Heir of the Sea
by Lullaby121
Summary: Arkos'mii'lian is a child of the God of the Sun. The Holy Savior. Yet he is the New God of the Sea. A domain corrupted by his father's nemesis 500,000 years ago. The Hour of Rupture is fast approaching. The Seals of the Old Gods will break. And Lian must make a choice, between what he has been told and what he believes to be right.
1. Prologue

**Trigger Warning: There are situations throughout the story that I would classify as physical and emotional abuse, just so you all know.**

Author's Note: I carried some characters over from Silver Tongue, which is my somewhat out of date backstory that I wrote for Jace, before the Origins set was released. This story can stand alone without Silver Tongue. And the characterizations in Silver Tongue are a bit out of date. I'm just letting you know in case you wanna read that story (I'm not suggesting it because Silver Tongue is old and I had no plan whatsoever when I wrote it other than "Jace backstory and he has siblings").

Prologue

"Hush, Little One. It's bed time."

"But, Mommy. Can you tell me a story?"

The mother sighed, "Very well. I can tell you a story. Climb into bed."

The child obediently climbed into their bed. They hugged their stuffed doll and pulled their blanket up to their chin.

It was only once they were settled that their mother began the story.

"Long ago, when the Multiverse was young there were only the Old Gods. The Gods got along seemingly fine and acted quite like a happy family. They worked together for the benefit of the worlds. The god of the sun and truth, Seth'ius. The goddess of fire and beauty, Chandra. The god of the sea and sky, Jace. The god of order and light, Gideon. The goddess of life and peace, Nissa. And the goddess of death and kindness, Liliana. The god of the sun, yes the same one that watches over us now, was pure and righteous. Everything was peaceful for thousands of years. However, behind the happiness, darkness worked it's magic. The god of the sky and sea was untrustworthy and only Seth'ius seemed to know it. Outwardly Jace was withdrawn. This was not an issue as he often voiced his preference for books over company. He had an odd appearance, being a man with feline ears and a long furred tail. His snakelike sapphire eyes were enchanting. He was incredibly intelligent and his voice was beautiful, almost hypnotic. However, Seth'ius trusted in the others' faith in the man.

Seth'ius loved the goddess of fire more than anything. She was beautiful, powerful, independent, and most of all she was loyal. Her trust, though difficult to earn, was not easily lost. Though she was fickle and could seem to hate him when he had angered her, she did in fact return his feelings. The goddess of death often encouraged her to speak with him about it but every time she tried she could not find a way to articulate it. The goddess of life was shy and lacked confidence. She didn't speak much but tended a beautiful garden that was admired by all of her company. The goddess of death was like a mother figure to all of them. She looked after them and helped the god of order and light make sure everyone was getting along. The god of order and light was the undisputed leader of the group. He loved all of them equally and unconditionally. He did his best to guide them down the right path.

Now, the god of the sun and the god of the sky and sea were not the best of friends. They barely managed to tolerate each other's company. Jace was undeniably helpful to his companions. He could easily talk them out of trouble and helped them out in any sticky situation they came into without asking for anything in return. He spent most of his time alone in his library with books, reading, rereading, studying and otherwise avoiding interacting with the others much.

A dark prophecy from the Oracle changed all of that. She decreed that a traitor will show his true face and darkness will flow over the worlds, consuming them. She said the sun will be blotted from the sky and the worlds will fall into chaos unless something was done quickly.

Seth'ius's distrust for the god of the sky and sea surfaced again when the others started to act oddly. They insisted everything was normal but Seth'ius could tell something was off. Chandra began to spend a worrying amount of time with Jace and Liliana began to seem to prefer him. However, Jace was no different, often savagely demanding the two leave him alone. Despite his harsh rude attitude towards them their attitudes toward him did not change. Seth'ius watched helplessly as everyone's attention began to divert towards the god of the sky and sea. They began to favor him over any other deity. The others insisted he was innocent as well. It was then that Seth'ius got the sinking feeling that the god of the sky and sea was up to something sinister. He confronted the man multiple times on it. However he insisted he was innocent and that he wasn't doing anything. However Seth'ius know that the god had powers of people's minds and could control them if he wanted.

Seth'ius continued to confront him to no avail. Gideon got angry with Seth'ius and told him to leave Jace alone and that Jace was innocent. Seth'ius watched as his friends and loved ones started to block him off. He begged them to believe him but they refused to listen. It wasn't until one day when the god of the sky and sea invited Seth'ius out to walk on the beach that darker things finally took form. Jace sat on the beach while Seth'ius stood. He asked Seth'ius what he saw. Seth'ius told him he saw water. Jace got to his feet and walked up to the edge of the water and asked him what water was. Seth'ius told him it was water. Jace then gave him an evil look and told him that water is life, death and light. Water is the reflection of the sky in which Seth'ius's precious sun sits. Clouds began to form on the horizon and the ocean began to heave. The clouds blocked out the sun. Jace then asked Seth'ius if he knew what would happen if the sun remained hidden behind the clouds. Seth'ius ordered him to remove the clouds that had darkened the world. Jace laughed and commented on how helpless and powerless Seth'ius was. He then told Seth'ius that if he wanted the sun back he would do as he was told. Instead Seth'ius drew on the power of the sun. The battle that followed was brutal, leaving Seth'ius severely weakened. He locked Jace away in the bottom of the ocean but watched helplessly as the life in the sea died because of their deity's selfishness. He returned to the others and told them what had happened. Chandra got angry with him and demanded to know where Jace was. He refused to tell her and she left, searching for him. Liliana took her own life a few decades later. She returned as a demon and Seth'ius was forced to lock her away within a tomb buried deep within the earth. Gideon was consumed with guilt and locked himself away. He left the world in Seth'ius's and Nissa's care and swore that he would return when Jace's seal was broken and deal with him himself. Seth'ius brought Nissa with him to try to find and reason with Chandra. However it was obvious that the goddess of fire had fallen prey to Jace's mind control and was no longer herself. Seth'ius imprisoned her within a volcano.

Nissa fell nearly completely silent. She followed Seth'ius and aided him in restoring life to the Multiverse so that us humans wouldn't have to pay the price for Jace's selfish lust for power. Seth'ius allowed Liliana to take up a motherly role again with our souls. She became known as the Lady of Death. Though she may be a demon she is not evil. The souls of the dead are well taken care of. The Lady of Death has sworn revenge on god of the sky and sea. The god of the sun took up Gideon's mantle and provides the world with light, warmth and order to this day. The goddess of life, though quiet and broken, still cares for and protects us until it is our time to join the Lady in the earth. Their children took up the missing elements that had been lost when the traitorous god of the sky and sea corrupted the goddess of fire and both were sealed away. They also took up new elements. The first child became the new god of the sky. The second child became the goddess of knowledge. The third child became the new god of the sea. The fourth child became the god of the earth. The fifth child became the goddess of protection. The sixth child became the god of animals. The seventh child became the god of the moon. The eighth child became the god of magic. The ninth child became the new goddess of fire.

The Oracle has predicted that if the seals are not restored in a small window of time, many years from now, the earth will tremble, the mountain will awaken and a storm will come. When the seal holding the god of the sky and the sea breaks the oceans will heave and a great dark storm will fill the sky. He will walk unhindered out of the raging waves surrounded by lightning, thunder, and rain. He will release the goddess of fire. The volcano that has been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years will erupt more violently than it has before. The sun will be blotted from the sky and the god of the sky and the sea will plunge the Multiverse into chaos. We will all be caught in a war between gods…"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lian stood in a forest on the banks of a creek. The trees stood tall and proud. Their leaves rustled in a gentle breeze. Small woodland creatures moved around him like he didn't exist. The whole environment was in motion yet the water was undisturbed. The creek was still when the rest of the world moved. No moss grew on the rocks protruding from the water. There wasn't a single hint of fish. The water was crystal clear. The grey and white pebbles that made up the creek bed were jagged and sharp.

Lian easily hopped onto a rock that rose above the surface of the water and perched on it. He studied his reflection, his head cocked to the side curiously. He patted at his messy disobedient black hair, holding it flat to his head. He giggled and made faces into the water before removing his hands from his head. "There's nothing wrong with the water," he whispered to himself, "Well except for the fact that nothing lives in it, but that's how it's always been." He rolled his eyes, "I've been around for hundreds of thousands of years and nothing has happened." He shook his head, "But everybody acts like the apocalypse is right around the corner."

Lian's tone turned mocking as he continued "The water is dangerous! The previous god of the sky and sea can corrupt you! Take over your mind and force you to commit atrocities!" He giggled and lowered his hand into the water. The moment his fingers came into contact with it the creek began to move. It started to flow the way a creek should. The movement didn't catch his attention. He was lost in his own mind, muttering his thoughts out loud under his breath "It's been years. I'm pretty sure that if the previous god of the sky and sea even exists he'd have done something by now. And even if he does exist, I'm sure if I was actually in any danger from him _he'd have done something_."

He started mocking again. "Father! Father! Fix him! His connection to the sea can be broken right?! Please! Father! Father! Father!" He giggled again, "It's always 'Father' this and 'Father' that."

"Arkos'mii'lian!"

Lian jumped and stopped giggling abruptly. He pulled his hand out of the water and it grew still again. He got to his feet and shoved his hands nervously into the pockets of his slightly oversized black and gold hoodie. He hopped back to the bank of the creek and took a few steps away from it. He swallowed. His gaze darted around, taking in his surroundings in quick sweeps.

A very large muscular man forced his way through the underbrush, stepping out onto the banks of the creek. A prominent scar stretched from his ear down to his chin on the left side. His blond hair was neatly combed backwards and his gray-blue eyes were cold and hard. He was followed by two others: a young man with a similar but leaner build and a young woman.

The man's gaze raked over Lian. His expression changed from calm disapproval to unadulterated rage jarringly fast. He grabbed Lian's arm and pulled it out of his pocket.

"Ow!" Lian cried out. He glared up at the man for a moment before quickly lowering his gaze. Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited in silence.

"Mii'lian. Why is your hand wet?"

Lian swallowed, "I...I put it in the creek." He looked up and quickly added, "I didn't mean to, Father. It was an accident. I slipped on the bank and had to catch myself!"

His father harshly ordered him to be silent.

Lian flinched and lowered his head submissively, "I'm sorry, Father."

His father continued, "Why don't you ever listen, you imbecile? Even punishment has stopped working with you." His grip tightened on Lian's arm.

Lian breathed in sharply but didn't say anything.

"You should be in class! Instead I find you traipsing through the woods, disrupting your mother's serene creation with your arm half submerged in a river!"

"It's a creek. Not a river." Lian muttered.

"Silence." His father hissed. He shoved Lian's arm back to him.

Lian took a half step back, "I'm sorry, Father."

"For uncountable years you have disobeyed me, endangered your family, and caused chaos and fear wherever you went."

Lian glanced at him but didn't lift his head, "Technically it's been four hundred and eighty three thousand nine hundred and seventeen years nine months and twenty five days."

His father backhanded him across the face.

Lian cried out. He stumbled a couple steps sideways and touched his face. A red mark in the shape of his father's gauntlet appeared within seconds.

"If you step out of line again, you will have to deal with the consequences."

Lian swallowed hard, past the lump that formed in his throat. He nodded and apologized again.

His father turned to the young man that had accompanied him, "Daria'lis. Take your sibling and make _sure_ he gets to the Gods' Palace. And cleans himself up."

Daria nodded, "Yes Father." He grabbed Lian's arm and dragged him away.

The young woman nodded to their father, turned around, and followed the two of them away.

Lian stumbled over the roots and underbrush as his brother dragged him through the forest. He didn't speak until they left the woods and were walking along the beach towards a city. He glanced out at the ocean to their left, "It's not like the water is poisonous. Why is Father so bent out of shape?"

Daria instantly responded, "Father has told us multiple times to stay away from it. And it doesn't have to be poisonous to be dangerous."

Lian rolled his eyes, "Usually when someone mutters under their breath they don't actually want you to tell them all the reasons why their statement can't possible be accurate."

Daria took a deep breath to continue speaking but their sister shook her head. He exhaled instead.

Lian glanced at his arm, "You can let go any time now, you know?"

His brother shook his head, "You're going to run off and get yourself into trouble again."

"I will not!" Lian insisted defensively, "When have I ever done that?"

"You've done it to Father multiple times." Daria responded coldly.

"He's different," Lian muttered.

"Daria, let him go," their sister ordered.

Daria tried to argue but she interrupted him and repeated her command.

Daria hesitated but let Lian go.

Lian pushed his sleeve up to his elbow and rubbed at the red spot that covered his wrist and lower forearm. He obediently continued to follow his two siblings home.

All of the buildings of the city were built with white marble. The cobblestone streets were pristine perfect white. The Gods' Palace was easily identifiable by it's gold plated rooftop and the large silver gate that separated it from the city. The gate was carved in a manner to resemble a rose bush and the latch required two hands to be able to open. All the buildings of the city had bright polished silver roofs.

More humans walked through the streets than elves. They were the only two races to live in the city. Lian got multiple ugly looks, mostly from humans. Most elves didn't look at him. If they did it was with guarded sympathy.

"Why does everyone get up in arms when they see a human and an elf in a relationship when the gods they worship as the heads of the pantheon are a human and an elf? Who happen to be married? And are our parents?" Lian asked, not for the first time.

"Mother and Father are gods," Daria explained, "They're different."

Lian stared at him for a second and muttered, "I'm not even gonna bother explaining how backwards that logic is."

His sister put her hand on top of his head and put the finger of her free hand to her lips. She shook her head when Lian looked up at her.

He sighed and nodded. However he did give his older brother a mutinous glare.

Lian preoccupied himself with looking around. They were nearly at the gates of the palace now. The palace sat on a hill along the northern side of the city. The entire city could be viewed easily from any balcony of the palace. The courtyard was a beautiful garden with trees and various other plants that Lian knew next to nothing about. And in the center of the courtyard was a white marble basin filled with crystalline water that glowed softly silver. Flowers that only bloomed when the moonlight hit them floated on the surface of the water.

"How come we have a giant pool in the middle of our courtyard but any other kind of water is forbidden and dangerous?" Lian asked accusingly.

"It was a gift from The Dead Mother," Daria snapped defensively, "And it's not water."

Lian gave his brother a defiant look and leaned over the water, "It certainly looks like water."

Daria rolled his eyes, "That's because it's not meant for us. We can't draw on it's power."

Lian raised his eyebrow, "None of us have tried touching it." He made no attempt to touch it however. He walked away from the basin and stood next to his sister with his hands shoved into his pockets.

Daria stared at him, "That is strictly forbidden!"

Lian nodded, "I know." He started to walk away, towards the palace. "I was just saying that literally no one has ever tried touching it," He snapped over his shoulder.

Daria jogged after him, "The Dead Mother warned Father that to touch the water would drain away every bit of power and destroy the soul. Anyone who touches the water gets no afterlife. They're destroyed forever."

Lian was unimpressed, "Did The Dead Mother tell you that personally? Or was that Father again?"

Daria glared at him, "Mii'lian. I was _there_ when she told Father."

Lian nodded like he was just now remembering that detail, "Oh yeah. I forgot. You get special treatment for being Father's favorite son."

Daria shook his head, "Father doesn't play favorites. You don't listen to him. There is a difference. He's just frustrated with you."

Lian opened his mouth to make another scathing comment but noticed Seth'ius standing in front of the double doors that led into the palace and closed his mouth. He lowered his gaze and mentally prepared himself for the punishment that was coming.

Daria told their father everything that happened, and his own interpretation of what Lian said. Lian attempted to correct Daria and clarify what he actually said but their father silenced him every time. Lian was told not to interrupt his brother and that he is already in trouble as it is. His father warned him that he didn't want any more trouble if he wanted to see anything but the walls of his room for the next week.

"I'm probably going to be locked in my room for the next week anyway." Lian muttered under his breath.

Daria continued filling their father in, "Mii'lian intended to touch The Dead Mother's Pool because he thinks it's just water."

Their father turned to Lian but before he could say anything Lian leaped to defending himself, "I had no intention of touching it! I was just saying that none of us ever did!"

"Be silent, Mii'lian!" their father roared. He drew on some of his godly power and began to glow bright blinding white. His eyes turned opaque white and the ground trembled beneath their feet.

Lian quickly closed his mouth and lowered his gaze. His chest tightened in fear. He stepped down one step. After a couple of deep breaths he apologized, "I didn't mean to speak out of turn, Father. I apologize."

Their father reached out towards him.

Lian squeezed his eyes shut but the pain he expected didn't come. He lifted his head in surprise and watched as vines and tree branches wrapped around his father. Both of the man's arms were trapped at his sides. The vines lifted him about a foot off of the ground.

An elven woman with long brown hair and green eyes threw the doors to the palace open. She strode calmly and confidently down the steps until she stood on the same step as their father, "Inside, you three. Your father and I need to talk."

Lian nodded and hurried around her and into the palace. The other two followed more slowly.

Their father snarled, "Nissa. I command you to put me down." The plant matter set him down on the ground but did not release him. He twisted and turned but couldn't get free. "He needs to be punished. He needs to learn to accept things as they are-"

Nissa interrupted him, "You mean as you tell him they ought to be, Seth'ius?"

Seth'ius ripped free of her branches and vines and grabbed her by her throat and lower face, "Silence, Elf. This _is_ how things ought to be. And I will not allow Arkos'mii'lian to be possessed by that demon you called a friend." He shoved her to the ground and stormed into the palace.

Nissa calmly got to her feet and brushed herself off. She stared out at a singular mountain in the distance. The mountain was obsidian black, but the lava that had colored it's slopes had long since stopped flowing. She took a deep breath and entered the palace.

Lian relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as his father closed his bedroom door behind him. He pulled his desk chair over to the window, "Eleven days? It's been worse."

He opened the curtains. Black cold iron bars blocked his window. He wasn't bothered by it. They had been there since he was little because he had developed a habit of sneaking out of the house at night to go to the beach. And well...his father hadn't approved. He opened the window, "Let's let some air in, shall we?"

He glanced over his shoulder at his, slightly ajar closet door and sighed. He walked over to it and pulled the door fully open, "C'mon, Buddy. Father's gone. You can come out of the closet now."

A bright red furred fox lifted it's head from it's paws and met his gaze. It had intense green eyes. Three scars in the shape of claw marks ran through the skin above and below it's left eye. Lian didn't actually know if it could see out of that eye. The fox defiantly put it's head back down.

"Really?" Lian squeaked indignantly.

The fox ignored him.

Lian crossed his arms over his chest, "Fine. I'll go sit at the window by myself then. Enjoy your nap."

The fox gave him a short sharp yelp that sounded akin to "Fine."

Lian turned away from the closet dramatically, "Fine." He flounced over to his chair and flopped onto it. He rested his arms on the window sill and set his chin down on his elbows.

He jumped in surprise as the fox laid it's head on his lap. His eyes narrowed, "Oh. Now you want attention? Now that I'm not giving it to you?"

The fox yawned broadly.

He smiled and patted it's head.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Lian stopped as a loud high pitched yowl reached his ears. He crept into a dark alley way. The sound came again. It came from the canal. "But I can't go to the canals."_

 _A tall seamless stone wall separated the canal from the rest of the city. In the shadow of the wall three kids, two girls and a boy stood around a fox that was whimpering and growling. All three of them were both older and bigger than him. One of the girls kicked at the fox, "Take that!"_

" _I hope the fox lady sees this!" another kid yelled._

" _Yeah! Maybe she'll prove she exists!"_

 _All three of the kids laughed._

 _Lian walked towards them, "Hey. Stop that."_

 _The kids turned to him. The boy stuck his tongue out at him, "What are you gonna do, Loser?"_

" _Yeah! They all say you're a god but you don't have any powers!"_

" _Maybe you're just a normal human like the rest of us."_

" _Imagine a human child of gods. That must be so embarrassing."_

 _Lian didn't flinch at their jibes. He stopped between them and the fox, still as calm as ever, "Lucy isn't the one that created the fox. Mother did. It's her you're disrespecting by hurting it."_

 _The kids laughed at him. "That's not what my mom said!"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Now get out of the way." One of the girls shoved Lian out of the way._

" _Better yet, get lost!" the boy yelled._

 _Lian shoved the girl back. She stumbled away from the fox. Lian glared at them defiantly, "I said leave it alone!"_

 _One of the girls leaned over him threateningly, "And I said get out of the way."_

 _Lian held her gaze, "No."_

 _The boy lifted his fist to hit Lian. Lian flinched. The boy laughed, "You flinched and all I did was raise my hand. You really are weak aren't you?!"_

 _Lian lowered his gaze, "I'm not that weak." He glared at them again, "Leave the fox alone."_

" _You're a waste of time." The girl shoved him again and the boy caught him and twisted his arm behind his back._

 _Lian tried to wriggle free but stopped when the boy yanked his arm, "OW!" He watched helplessly as the two girls knelt down in front of the fox. One girl pulled a knife out of her boot._

 _Lian started trying to get free again. His voice started as a low growl but got progressively louder and more demanding, "I said stOP IT!" He pulled all of his weight forward. An odd warm tingling sensation spread through his body. He fell to the ground on his hands and knees, and the boy rolled over him and landed on his back on the ground._

 _The two girls screamed, loud and high pitched. They scrambled to their feet, grabbed the boy, and ran._

 _Lian got to his feet and watched as a dragon composed entirely of water dropped down from the wall of the canal. It's eyes were simply glowing white orbs. Lian reached out to touch it and his hand passed into it's head. Lian stared at it, his eyes wide with wonder, "Did...I…? Make you?"_

 _The dragon circled around him, leaving claw shaped puddles on the ground where it stepped. Something between a gurgle and a catlike purr came from it. Lian couldn't tell if it had a mouth. Most of it's form was defined only in the way in which the water moved._

 _Daria grabbed Lian and pulled him away from the creature, "Lian! Get away from that!"_

 _Lian struggled against his brother. "It's not dangerous! I made it!" he protested._

 _The dragon growled angrily and crouched down to attack._

 _Daria shoved Lian behind him and ripped his swords out of their sheaths. His hands shook but he stood firm between the creature and his younger brother._

 _Lian took the opportunity and slid around Daria to stand between his brother and the creature, "I made it! It won't hurt anyone!"_

 _Daria stared at him, horror and fear beginning to form on his face. His voice was a shaky whisper, "You couldn't have."_

 _Seth'ius strode quickly around the corner. He stopped and assessed the situation, "Daria'lis. Get your brother out of here." His tone was grave._

" _Father! Please don't hurt it! It didn't do anything!" Lian pulled away from his brother's reaching hands, "It just scared those kids away! It didn't hurt them!"_

 _Seth'ius grabbed Lian and shoved him into Daria, "Get out of here."_

" _No!" Lian screamed. He struggled against his brother._

 _It was all Daria could do to hold onto Lian as he writhed and wriggled and thrashed._

" _Father! Don't hurt it!"_

 _Seth'ius ignored him._

 _The dragon snarled but stayed low and backed itself into the wall._

" _Father! Please!"_

" _Lian! Stop struggling!" Daria ordered, "We have to get out of here! That's a water demon!"_

 _Tears started to fall down Lian's cheeks, "It's not! I made it!"_

 _Daria looked to their father for guidance._

" _Keep him out of the way, Daria," Seth'ius calmly ordered._

 _Daria nodded, "Yes, Father." He wrestled Lian to the ground. He pinned his little brother on his stomach and held his left arm behind his back._

" _Ow! Get off!" Lian cried. He tried to get free but only put himself in more pain._

 _Daria didn't move._

 _Seth'ius attacked the dragon. The dragon did not fight back. It attempted to get away but Seth'ius trapped it in a cage made of glowing white bars. The dragon whimpered._

" _Father, leave it alone please!" Lian reached out towards his father and the dragon. The warm tingling feeling was fading as the dragon's form started to evaporate. The comfort and safety faded along with it. "I made it." Lian's voice cracked and he buried his face into his free arm._

 _The dragon started to snarl. It leaped at the bars of the cage, desperately trying to reach Lian. It didn't stop until enough water had evaporated off of it that it could no longer hold itself together. It collapsed into a large puddle that quickly evaporated in the light of the cage._

 _The cage slowly dissolved into particles of white light that faded before they touched the ground. Seth'ius walked up to the fox, "Let's put you out of your misery."_

" _Don't touch it, Seth'ius." Six trees rose from the ground in a circle. After a moment they fell back into the earth. Nissa calmly knelt down next to the fox. She replenished the creature's life force, bringing it back from the brink of death. The worst of it's wounds healed, but scars still remained._

 _Seth'ius scowled, "And what do you intend to do with that animal, Nissa?"_

 _Nissa rose to her feet and turned to Seth'ius. She looked up at him. Pride and defiance were clear in her eyes but her face was otherwise clear. "Lian is going to look after it. He stood up for it. It is only fitting that he cares for it."_

 _Seth'ius's eyes narrow angrily, "Why not just put it out of it's misery?"_

 _Nissa ignored him and turned to Daria and Lian, "Daria, get off your brother."_

 _Daria got to his feet. He took two large steps away from Lian and eyed him, hiding his fear to the best of his ability._

 _Lian didn't move except to pull his left arm under his head. He continued to cry._

 _Nissa knelt down in front of him and touched his head, "Lian, your need to get up."_

 _Lian didn't stop crying but obediently climbed to his feet._

" _If you can't keep that animal under control then it dies, just like that dragon," Seth'ius warned._

 _Nissa glared at Seth'ius, "Seth'ius. ENOUGH."_

 _Seth'ius gave her a hard gaze but fell silent._

 _Daria stepped forward, "Mother, with all due respect, Lian isn't the most responsible of us."_

 _Nissa got to her feet and wrapped her arm around Lian's shoulders. Lian buried his face into her long green dress. "That is no reason to threaten to kill something that would inevitably be important to him, Daria."_

 _Daria nodded, "Yes, Mother. I understand."_

 _Nissa sighed very quietly. She looked from Lian to the fox and back again. She knelt down in front of Lian, "Go with your brother. Your fox will be in your room when you return to the palace."_

 _Lian nodded._

 _Nissa picked up the fox. She stopped next to Seth'ius before she left and quietly commanded, "Do not threaten him further, Seth'ius."_

 _Seth'ius growled, "I do not take orders from you."_

 _Nissa pressed her lips together and clenched her jaw. She left the same way she had arrived._

 _Seth'ius grabbed Lian's arm and shoved him towards Daria, "Walk with Daria'lis. And stop crying over that water demon. It had no intention of protecting you."_

" _But I made it." Lian insisted. He turned around to face his father. His eyes were red and watery from crying._

 _Seth'ius's face contorted in rage and he smacked Lian across the face. The sound of the hit echoed off the canal wall._

 _Daria jumped but said nothing._

 _Lian whimpered and stepped away from Seth'ius. He held his face._

" _Don't be delusional, Mii'lian. You may be the new god of the sea but the water will forever remain loyal to it's previous master. You have no power over it. The water is dangerous and is not to be messed with. Or spoken of." Seth'ius turned his back on them, "Daria'lis. Make sure your fool of a brother makes it back to the palace."_

 _Daria nodded, "Yes, Father." He shoved Lian along in front of him. He didn't touch him after that and he made no move to comfort him. He simply watched Lian shuffle along slightly in front of him, deeply afraid._

 _Lian hid his face behind his hands as he walked through the streets of the city towards the palace. He did his best to stifle his crying or stop it completely. It felt like everyone stared at him as he walked by. Their gazes bored into him, making him want to cry even more._

 _Mayu paced impatiently in front of the gate to the palace. She rushed up to Lian and wrapped him in a hug the moment he came into view._

 _Lian buried his face into her shoulder and cried freely._

 _She looked at Daria, "What happened?!"_

 _Daria told her his interpretation of what happened and what their father said._

" _But I made it!" Lian wailed, "The dragon was mine!"_

" _The ocean isn't yours to command Li-Mii'lian! Not the same way the sky belongs to me!" Daria yelled. He hid his new-found fear of his little brother behind anger, "Let it go! Father said it was a demon! He was only protecting you. It was going to corrupt you!"_

 _Mayu glanced from Lian to Daria multiple times in shock._

 _Lian's crying quickly transformed into gross uncontrollable sobbing._

" _Sh. It's alright." Mayu ran her hand down the back of Lian's head. She shook her head at Daria, "Whether it's true or not, that was inappropriate."_

" _He couldn't have made it. He doesn't have the power." Daria insisted. He stalked towards the gate, "I'm going training."_

 _Mayu nodded, "You do that, Daria." She held held Lian until he calmed down. Once he pulled away from her she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and walked with him to his bedroom._

Lian glanced at the fox that was lying on his lap. He was sitting on his mattress. The sun had long since gone down. A single lamp on his desk illuminated the room in a dim light. "Maybe it is embarrassing to have a kid without any power." He shrugged, "Who knows?" He leaned to the side and pulled a device similar to a mp3-player out from under his pillow. He also grabbed a pair of headphones. He played some music and leaned back against the wall, "Just nine more days to go."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The moment the eleven days were up there was a knock on Lian's bedroom door. Lian jumped and pulled his headphones out, "Yeah?"

"It's Nissa. May I come in?"

Lian smiled, "Of course, Mother!"

Nissa closed the door behind her as she entered the room. She smiled gently at him, "Are you doing alright, Lian?"

Lian nodded, "I'm fine."

Nissa sat down next to him on his bed, "Are you sure? It's been eleven days. That doesn't usually bode well for most."

Lian nodded again. He lowered his gaze, "I'm used to it by now, Mother."

Nissa brushed his black hair out of the right side of his face, "I'm sorry." She held up a necklace with a long silver chain and a cat head shaped pendant, "Here."

Lian grinned and took it from her, "Thanks" He pulled it over his head and shoved it under his hoodie.

Nissa sighed and touched the hair clips that held his hair back on the left side of his head, "You stole more clips from Mayu didn't you?"

Lian shrugged, "She said she didn't mind."

Nissa shook her head, "It's not good to steal." She stood and put her hand on top of his head, "Come to Mayu or myself if you need anything."

Lian smiled up at her happily, "Yes, Mother. I will."

Nissa smiled back at him, "I'll be having tea in the garden after nightfall with Mayu if you wish to join us."

Lian brightened instantly and nodded excitedly, "I'd love to!"

Nissa chuckled, "Remember. Not a word to your father."

Lian nodded and whispered, "Yep."

Nissa hesitated for a moment but turned and left his room.

Lian reached over to his fox and wrapped his arms around it. He buried his face into it's side. He sat up and scooted closer to it, "Mother's finally doing tea again. It's been years since the last one." He paused, "I guess I understand why she doesn't do it often. Father would be livid if he found out." He shuddered.

That night Lian slid silently into Daria's bedroom. His brother would be out training still. And since his window had bars on it he'd just borrow somebody else's. He opened Daria's bedroom window and climbed onto the ledge outside it. He carefully closed the window behind him and dropped into a nearby tree. He maneuvered his way to the ground with ease and raced across the courtyard. He slid to a stop and hopped effortlessly onto a marble bench, next to Mayu.

Nissa and Mayu both watched him in amusement. The white marble table had tea, bread, and cookies sitting on it. Ivy and pastel flowers wrapped around the edge of the table.

Mayu smiled, "Here, why don't you sit, instead of standing on the bench?"

"Oh." Lian sat down and swung his legs, "Hi."

"How've you been?" Mayu asked.

Lian shrugged, "By myself." He noticed Mayu studying him worriedly and quickly added, "Which is fine. I don't mind it." He nodded, mostly to himself, "Besides. I've got my buddy to hang out with."

"You still haven't named him?" Mayu asked.

Lian grabbed some bread and bit into it angrily. "Loc still won't tell me his name," he explained with his mouth full.

"Why not?" Nissa asked curiously.

Lian shrugged. He swallowed his bite, "Because apparently it's a secret and I don't have anything to share with him."

Mayu laughed, "That sucks."

Lian cocked his head to the side, "Mother?"

Nissa nodded, "Yes?"

"Why is there only one mountain over there?" He pointed out towards the mountain that rose like an obsidian spire about a two day walk outside the city. "I thought mountains came in ranges."

Nissa stared at the mountain silently for a long while. Lian started to get impatient but didn't push her to answer. Eventually Nissa finally said, "It was initially a simple hill. But after thousands of years of lava piling on top of itself and cooling, it formed into the monument it is today."

Lian studied the mountain, "But...wouldn't I have noticed it before now if it's been around that long?"

Mayu shook her head, "Not necessarily. You..." She trailed off for a moment. "You don't get out much."

Lian lowered his gaze and studied the table, "Oh yeah." He started to pick at the ivy around the table.

Mayu quickly changed the subject, "Mother. Aria wanted me to give you these seeds. They're to a plant he found on Theros on one of his missions that Father sends him on." Mayu set the small cloth sack containing the seeds down close to the center of the table.

Lian leaned closer and touched the bag curiously. The seeds were large and rounded. They were vaguely cylindrical but each individual seed had a different set of irregularities from all of the others. He looked at Nissa, "Can I dump out the bag?"

Nissa nodded, "Be careful."

Lian slowly and gently dumped the seeds onto the table. A tingling sensation pricked his hands. He gave Mayu a curious look, "Are they magical?"

Mayu shrugged, "Aria didn't say."

Nissa took one of the seeds and held it in her palm for a moment. She smiled, "Midnight Lilies. I should've guessed."

Lian glanced at Mayu in confusion and cocked his head to the side, "Midnight Lilies?"

Nissa nodded, "They're Aria's favorite flowers. They can only be found on specific worlds. And Theros is not one of them, meaning he took a short detour on his way home." She got to her feet and walked a few feet away from the table. She knelt down and set the seed on the ground. She placed her hand, palm down over the seed. Slowly she lifted her hand off of the ground. The lily grew underneath her hand until it reached maturity. The flower however remained closed.

Lian blinked slowly, "Is it supposed to be like that? It doesn't look like a lily."

Mayu put her hand on his shoulder, "Be patient. Wait for the moon's light to hit it."

Nissa got to her feet and moved so that her shadow no longer fell on the flower. In the light of the moon the flower opened. It's petals glowed a gentle silver. Flecks of light like stars fell from the petals. The lights faded once it hit they ground. A barely audible jingling sound floated through the air.

Lian's eyes widened. "Wow," he breathed. He watched Nissa plant the remaining six seeds completely mesmerized.

Mayu noticed and waved her hand in front of his face.

Lian jumped and turned to her her, "Yeah?"

Mayu shrugged but studied him in silence for a moment. "You weren't blinking," she finally explained.

Nissa glanced at Lian but said nothing.

Lian didn't notice Nissa. He rubbed his eyes, suddenly aware of how dry they were, "Oh." He jumped up suddenly, "Mother! Mayu! Guess what?!" He pulled a small notebook out of one of the many pockets of his dark blue cargo pants. He flipped through it in a rush until he found the page he was looking for. He held it up, beaming proudly, for them to see. "I had an idea for a more human looking service bot that is a little more humanoid looking and can actually provide conversation! That way when Father locks me in my room it'll talk back when it brings me my food!" He set the notebook down on his lap. "The conversation points would have to be programed ahead of time of course. Because it's a robot and wouldn't be able to learn all on it's own."

Mayu gave him an approving nod, "Best make sure you don't lose the notebook then huh?"

Lian nodded. He continued excitedly, "And I think I might have found a way to transfer animal consciousness into a computer. But I don't really wanna test it. I don't know what would happen if I did and well...my buddy is really the thing I have available to test it on." Lian lowered his gaze and mumbled, "And what if he died?"

Nissa cupped her hands together and a small brown and light grey mouse formed in her palms. She held it out to Lian, "Take him then. He'll be able to withstand any mishaps that could occur."

Lian gingerly took the mouse and held it in his hands. It squeaked a couple times and pawed at his fingers. A few seconds later it tucked it's nose between his pointer and middle fingers of his left hand and fell asleep. Lian giggled, "He's so tiny."

Nissa smiled, "Don't be afraid to ask if you need any more."

Lian grinned, "Yes Mother!"

When tea ended Lian scaled the wall to one of his other two sisters' bedrooms. It was more difficult than usually, since he only had one free hand. He held the mouse Nissa had given him in his left hand. The window was already open because she couldn't sleep without it. He slid slowly and silently off the windowsill, watching her sleeping form. He paused and cocked his head to the side, "Is she wearing armor? While she's sleeping?" The room was too dark to really be able to tell. He shrugged and silently left the room. The door clicked closed behind him and he stiffened. He raced down the hall to his own bedroom, opening and closing the door without making a sound.

Lian opened up a drawer in his desk and set the mouse down inside. He turned to where his fox watched him curiously from his pillow, "Don't eat him, alright? He's your new brother."

The fox yawned and curled back up to go back to sleep.

Lian pouted, "Well fine. Love you too then." He went over to his closet and pulled out a couple of shirts. One was a bright red t-shirt that he never wore. The other was a thicker fleece pull over that he also never wore. He threw the shirts over the back of the desk chair, turned on the lamp, and pulled a singular drawer out from under his bed. He grunted from the effort of picking it up. The drawer was full of junk. Bits of scrap metal, old gears, wires, fabric scraps, screws, broken glass, and pretty much anything else.

"C'mon. I know it's in here somewhere." Lian dug recklessly through the contents of the drawer. He paused just long enough to take off his hoodie, "It's hot." His white turtle neck tank top went down to his waist. His belt had two chains hanging from it that had the sole purpose of decoration. He wore four necklaces of various lengths, including the one his mother had given him earlier. He hissed when he cut his hand on some glass but shook it out and continued to shove stuff aside.

Five minutes later he triumphantly held up an old sewing kit, "Ah-ha!" He set it on the desk and put the drawer back under his bed. He pulled the scissors out and started cutting apart his shirts. The first thing he cut out was a long strip that he wrapped around the cut on his hand. Then he cut the shirts apart further and glanced at the mouse multiple times for reference. Once he was satisfied with the pieces of fabric he laid them out on his desk. He cut a slit in his pillow, without disturbing the fox. He pulled some of the stuffing out of his pillow and took it back over to his desk. He placed the stuffing onto one of the pieces of cloth and then laid another piece of cloth on top of it. A handful of minutes later he had successfully sewed it closed.

"I need a book." Lian sneaked out of his room and made his way downstairs. In an effort to make as little noise as possible he shoved the large wooden door to the library just open enough that he could squeeze through. He grabbed the first large, heavy book he could find and then hurried back to his room, making sure to close the library door behind him.

He set the book down on the makeshift mouse mattress he had made to flatten it out so it hopefully wouldn't be lumpy. He layered the thick fleece of the jacket in between the red cloth of the shirt and sewed it together to make a blanket. When he was done he pulled the book off the mattress. He gently picked up the mouse with one hand and set him down on the mattress. He laid the blanket over the mouse and got to work making a layer of insulation for the desk drawer to keep the cold out.

When Lian was finished he picked up the mouse, on it's mattress wrapped up in it's blanket and set it down in the desk drawer. "I'll make you some toys over the week." Lian promised. He took the sewing kit and sewed the slit in his pillow closed. After putting the sewing kit back in the drawer, he put his hoodie back on, turned off the lamp and climbed into bed. He pulled his blanket over his shoulders, "Good night." He waited for a few moments.

Silence answered him.

He sighed, "Good night, Lian." He closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Lian glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had followed him. The alley was completely empty. He grinned and charged towards the canal wall. He scaled it and caught onto the top. He pulled himself up and dropped into the canal. He knew that he wouldn't sink unless he wanted to. So he crouched down on the surface of the water and rode it to it's opening. The canal dumped him over the edge of a cliff into the ocean.

"Woo-hoo!" Lian's grin widened as he plummeted towards the ocean.

The city itself was built on a cliff that Lian's oldest younger brother had created so the city was far removed from the water. The cliff edge was then lined with a very tall wall. But beyond the reaches of the city was a normal sandy beach. And the sandy beach is were Lian walked out of the water. The ocean fell still as he left it's reach. He pushed his hair out of his face, still grinning from the adrenaline rush of falling.

Lian tossed his backpack that he used for class onto the beach in front of him. He flopped down next to it. His grin faded to a half-smile half-smirk, "That was fun." He pulled one knee up to his chest and tucked his other foot under him. He stared out at the ocean.

For many long moments there was only silence. The ocean only shifted in response to the wind that whipped over it. There were no waves, no tides. It made no sound. Lian watched as a little boat went about fifty feet into the ocean. Instantly he rolled his eyes, "You gotta wonder how rich someone would be if they went and collected all the money people dropped down there." He shook his head, "I really don't get why they even do it. What's the point of dropping _money_ into the ocean if you aren't going to go in and fetch it?" He sighed, "Not that anybody is brave enough to." His voice became high pitched and squeaky, "My mom told me that if I go into the ocean the Old God of the Sea is gonna drag me down to the depths and I'll drown! And, and! One time my great granddad said the waves got so high they breached the wall!"

Lian giggled to himself, "And then the teacher is like 'Yes. That is why Our Lord, Seth'ius, had his son create the cliff the city now sits on.' Which is in fact, incorrect." He laughed, "Because what actually happened was the wall cracked and water started leaking into the city. Naturally everyone started panicking so our father, in all his brilliance, decided that instead of just fixing the damn wall, Kala had to push himself to the point of passing out to make a cliff that the ocean is going to literally eat in a few thousand years." He angrily threw sand at the water, "Or at least it would if it followed the laws of nature and moved!" He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into the soft warm sand, "I mean, the cliff is made from this sand. It would break down faster than a normal rock face would. That's just science." He glared at nothing in particular, "But who needs science when there's magic?!" His glare quickly faded, replaced by a blank stare. He brushed his hands through the sand, "Not everybody is blessed with those kinds of abilities."

The ocean moved. It was very subtle at first. A few seconds later, however, it was flowing the way an ocean should. Lian stared at it. He slowly got to his feet and walked over to it, "Why...are you moving?"

"Mii'lian!"

Lian growled softly and rolled his eyes. He turned around and gave Daria an unimpressed bored look, "What?"

The ocean lapped at Lian's ankles but he didn't notice.

Daria grabbed Lian's arm and dragged him forward, "You need to stay out of the water! You've been told that!"

"Ow!" Lian growled, "I wasn't in the water!" He glanced at his feet and groaned internally. "This is just high tide."

Daria glanced at the ocean fearfully. He quickly returned his focus to his brother, "Your clothes and hair are wet. You had to have been in the water."

Lian preoccupied himself with brushing the sand off of his pants and didn't give any sign that he had heard.

"Mii'lian the water is dangerous," Daria insisted.

Lian sighed and rolled his eyes, but remained focused on his pants, "There's nothing in it. How can it be dangerous?"

"Father has told us multiple times to stay out of it! Imagine if the previous sea god took control of you." Daria snapped.

Lian glared at Daria, "He can't! He's unconscious! Besides, why is it okay to get on a boat and drop money in the water for him but not okay for me, the new god of the sea, to go anywhere near the water?"

Daria rolled his eyes, "For the people it's there own way of appeasing him. They believe dropping a coin or two into the water will keep them safe. And we have to respect that. You are the god of the sea. If he took control of you, which he can, then the results would be disastrous."

"It's a waste of money," Lian muttered.

"What?" Daria asked.

Lian scooped up his backpack, "Nothing. I assume you're here to drag me back to another lecture."

"If you just listened to Father, you wouldn't keep getting in trouble," Daria insisted.

Lian made mocking noises in his throat and matching facial expressions as he stalked past Daria.

"Mii'lian. I am your older brother. Treat me with some respect," Daria commanded.

Lian ignored him and continued on towards the city.

Daria jogged after him and grabbed onto his arm. He roughly turned his brother around.

"Ow!" Lian ripped himself free, "Don't do that!"

"Then listen to me!" Daria ordered fiercely.

Lian at him defiantly, "No. All you do is repeat what Father says. If he's gonna lecture me anyway when we get back to the palace then I don't need to listen to you." He turned back around, outmaneuvering Daria's attempts to grab him again. He started to walk but picked up his pace until he was sprinting.

"Mii'lian!" Daria darted after him.

Lian pulled to a sudden stop and took a handful of steps backwards to avoid crashing into two of his sisters in the courtyard. He swallowed and nodded tensely to the two of them, "Tasha. Kayla."

Kayla waved cheerfully, "Hi Lian!" Her flame red curly mane of hair bounced along with her as she bounced on her toes excitedly, "Tasha and I were just going out to the Center!" She stopped bouncing and cocked her head to the side, "Why are you running?"

Lian shook his head, "It doesn't matter, really."

Tasha studied him for a moment. Her pale lavender eyes were calm, "Mii'lian. Why are you wet?"

Lian stiffened. He didn't look at her, "That doesn't matter either." He stalked around them and skipped up the steps to the palace doors two at a time.

Kayla looked at Tasha sadly, "Why doesn't he like you?"

Tasha shook her head. Her blonde bun stayed in place despite the movement, "I'm sure it's not that, Kayla. We're family." She looked back at the palace doors, "He's just defensive is all." She pressed her lips together and silently added, "I hope."

Kayla nodded, "Okay!" She studied Tasha for a moment, "We're still going to the Center right?"

Tasha nodded, "Of course." She took Kayla's hand and led her away.

Daria bolted through the courtyard a minute later. He burst into the palace to find Seth'ius already lecturing Lian. He breathed a sigh of relief, "You did come back to the palace."

"Where else would I go?" Lian muttered under his breath.

"Room. Now." Seth'ius ordered Lian, "And you're not to come out for three days."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father." He walked up the stairs of the palace to his bedroom. He tossed his backpack into the corner behind the door and flopped onto his chair. He tapped his fingers on his desk, "Three days. Three days." He tensed suddenly and opened the top drawer. He smiled when he saw the little mouse sleeping away. "I'll get started on those toys, Little Guy." He mostly closed the drawer and pulled the drawer out from under the bed.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the three days passed Storm came up to Lian's bedroom and knocked on his door. "Father said it was alright to talk to you now," Storm said nervously. He rocked back and for from his heels to his toes while he waited for Lian to respond.

Lian opened the door. His hair was a wreck, sticking up in places, completely covering half of his face instead of just falling into it. He didn't have the clips in his hair and his hoodie was twisted up around him.

Storm stopped rocking and smiled, "Just woke up?"

Lian nodded and rubbed his face. He shoved his hand into his hair to hold it back. "What do you need?" he yawned.

Storm took off the visor he wore. His eyes were a pretty, saturated teal. But he had a pretty bad, healing cut on the side of his face. The cut reached from his eyebrow and curved around his eye and finally ended at his cheekbone. He held the visor out to Lian, "It's started glitching a little bit. It's not a nuisance yet, but I thought I'd bring it up with you before it became a problem."

Lian took the visor and looked it over. His hair feel back into his face. He blew at it indignantly. Almost instantly he looked up at Storm, "Probably just some minor damage from the training you were doing the other day." Lian noticed the cut on Storms face and nodded, "Yeah. You got hit on the side of your face didn't you?"

Storm nodded, "Father said I wasn't guarding well enough and told Aria to stop holding back. And he hit me in the side of the head."

"Ouch," Lian commented sympathetically. He looked back at the visor, "Well it should only take a few hours to fix."

Storm smiled, "Thanks."

"No problem." Lian smiled back at him.

Storm started to shift his weight from one foot to the other, "I-I guess I'll leave you to it then. I'll be in my room."

"Alright." Lian watched Storm walk away. He sighed and closed his bedroom door. He pulled his hoodie off and took the visor apart. "This is loose," he pulled at a loose connection.

The fox growled in protest when he accidentally hit his bed with the drawer when pulling it out.

"Sorry. Sorry." Lian stepped over the drawer and petted his fox a couple times. He quickly returned to fixing his brother's visor.

Once he fixed it he paused, "Father said he wasn't guarding well enough huh?" He pulled the notebook out of his pocket and flipped to a blank page. He sat down on his chair and spun it around slowly. He chewed on the cap of his pen. Suddenly he sat up straight as a board. He grinned, "That's it!" He started to draw out the visor. "I'll just need to add a few..." He trailed off as he focused entirely on what he was drawing.

When he was done he started to rebuild the visor. He added an extra little piece that glowed a little bit and vibrated at a frequency that most wouldn't be able to feel. Lian could feel it. And he was sure Storm would be able to feel it, being the god of magic and all. Lian grinned and proudly held up the visor. The process had taken him four hours in total.

Lian knocked on Storm's door.

"Just a second." Storm called.

Lian heard him squeak and heard a thud. He stepped towards the door just as it opened. Storm used the door to pull himself to his feet. The room behind him was a war zone. Clothes were strewn across the floor and his desk was covered with notebooks and books from the younger boy's classes. It looked like he had tripped over one of his shirts.

Storm straitened his dark blue blazer and fixed his white tie, "Thanks." He patted down his wavy dark purple hair and put the visor back on.

Lian nodded, "I added a few things to it that should be able to help you in training."

"I can tell," Storm nodded. He tapped the side of the visor with a gloved hand curiously.

Lian studied Storm for a second, hesitant to leave. "So..." He swallowed, "Do you need anything else?" He hoped Storm would say yes. If only because he'd have some company for a little longer.

Storm thought for a second, "Um. No…? I don't think so." He glanced over his shoulder to his room, "Father might get mad if he finds you helping me clean _my_ room."

"So?" Lian responded instantly, "If you need the help I'd be happy to."

Storm shook his head, "Sorry, Lian. I don't want us to get in trouble."

Lian sighed, "Alright."

"Thanks again." Storm started to close his door. He hesitated just before the door closed fully, "Sorry."

Lian stared at the closed door. He reached out and touched the door lightly with his fingers. He made sure not to move the door or in any other way lead Storm to believe he was still there. A second later he pulled away and walked slowly back to his room. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and kicked his door closed. He leaned against the door and sulked.

The fox was seemingly asleep on the pillow. Or at the very least ignoring him. Lian smirked a little bit, "Probably thinking I'm being melodramatic, huh?"

The fox didn't respond.

Lian sighed. His smirk faded and his voice was hollow as he muttered, "Or just asleep." He rubbed his face with his hands then slowly dragged them down his face. He tipped his head back and stared at the ceiling, "If only you could talk."

He straightened abruptly and walked over to his desk. The mouse was chasing one of the tiny balls Lian had made him that rolled around on it's own. Lian chuckled, "C'mere, Little Guy. We've got some work to do." He picked the mouse up and set him on his desk. The chair's wheels whirred in protest when he yanked it out away from the desk. He spun the chair around so it was facing his bed and pulled the drawer out from under his bed. He set it down on the chair.

The mouse sat on the desk, sniffing at the air and looking around. It poked it's nose into some of the stuff on the desk.

Lian noticed and picked him up, "Stop that. You're gonna cut your nose." He gently patted the mouse's nose with his finger and set it back down on the desk. He petted it between the ears, "Now don't hurt yourself, alright? I'll have to put you back in the drawer if you do."

He grabbed the notebook off of the desk and flipped back through some pages. He eventually stopped on a design for a headset obviously for the fox that would connect to the computer that was hidden in his closet. On the page next to the headset was an idea for a transforming robotic body for the fox. Both pages had all manner of notes and descriptions and close up drawings of certain aspects of the design. There was also some smudged ink on the pages and a large coffee stain spread across both pages.

Lian grinned and started working. He pulled the computer out of the closet and set it up on the floor next to the desk. He sat cross-legged in front of it.

The first priority of the project was developing a program on the computer. There needed to be a place where the consciousness could be stored as a file without deteriorating. He needed a program that would be able to re-upload the file back onto the headset so it could be transferred into a new body.

Lian nodded approvingly, "The hope is, I'll be able to talk to them when I transfer them into a robotic body. Naturally there would need to be predetermined conversation points. But I can always expand the speech programming when the need arises. I'll just start with the basics and go from there."

Programming took six days. Lian didn't sleep until he passed out from exhaustion and then he woke up a few hours later and continued working. He built two headsets. One for the mouse. One for the fox. The mouse was much more cooperative when it came to making sure the headset fit properly.

Lian chased the fox around his room, "Buddy! Hey! Come here!"

The fox leaped onto his bed, it's tale waving back and forth. It yelped at him.

Lian gave it a flat look, "Oh shush. I know you're being difficult just because you can be." He dived onto his bed but the fox leaped off of it. He scowled and slid less than gracefully off of his bed, "Why are you so much faster than me?" He got to his feet and brushed some of the dust off of his pants.

The fox sat down next to his desk and yawned.

Lian raised an eyebrow, "Oh. You're bored are you?" He crossed his arms over his chest, "That's fine. You can be bored. That's not going to stop me from getting this hat onto your cute fuzzy little head."

The fox barked.

Lian sat down on his bed. He ran his hands through his hair, "C'mon, Buddy."

The fox's tail flopped around behind it.

He sighed, "Fine. You'll come to me." He took the headset off of the mouse.

The fox whimpered.

Lian looked over at it, "What? If you want attention then get over here." He motioned for it to come closer with a wave of his hand.

The fox stood up and trotted over to him. It shoved it's head under his hand.

Lian smiled, "Hi, Buddy." He wrapped his arms around the fox and set his head on it's back. After a moment he pulled away, "Alright. Give me just a second." He managed to finagle the headset onto the fox's head. He adjusted it so that it fit perfectly and then took it off. He petted his fox a few times afterwards, "Sorry, Buddy. But now that that's done I don't have to do it again for a while."

The fox flicked it's tail into his face.

Lian batted it away and rubbed at his nose, "Really?!" He patted the fox's head, "That was low, Buddy."

The fox barked in a way that sounded like "Nope!"

Lian raised an eyebrow, "Smacking me with your tail when I'm trying to work isn't low?"

The fox growled softly and rolled onto it's back.

Lian laughed, "Alright. Alright." He rubbed under the fox's chin for a little bit before returning to work. He tested the headset on the mouse. The mouse twitched and squeaked but nothing happened. The little guy quickly fell back to sleep.

Lian sighed, "Oh well. I guess we can't expect it to work on the first try. These things rarely do." He pulled the little headset off of the mouse. He got to his feet, "I'm gonna go get us some lunch. I'll be right back, guys." He made sure to close the door behind him. He took a platter up to his room with him, despite the fact that he wouldn't be able to eat that much. He gave the mouse a little piece of bread to munch on while he reworked his calculations. And he just let the fox pick through the meat and fruit he'd brought up. Lian nibbled at some bread himself.

He continued to work for another couple of weeks. Three more tests failed, but he was getting closer. The most recent test had managed to reach the point of uploading the file onto the computer but an error had occurred and the action had been canceled.

Lian was about to perform another test when his father threw open the door to his room without knocking first.

He dropped the mouse and whirled around. He stared at his father in shock and horror and stumbled over explaining himself.

Seth'ius towered over him, his face twisted in rage the likes of which Lian had never seen before, "What do you think you're doing, you selfish rat?!"

Lian flinched and lowered his gaze.

"Well?" Seth'ius prompted impatiently.

Lian eventually lifted his head and looked at Seth'ius. He swallowed and licked his lips nervously, "I was just trying to make something that would help my fox talk. So I'd be able to talk to him."

"You little scumbag. You have your family here to talk to! You don't need anyone else!" Seth'ius grabbed him and tossed him onto his bed.

The fox growled but Lian held it still.

Bright white chains wrapped around the computer, the drawer that held all the supplies Lian used to make these things, the mouse, and the two separate headsets. The mouse shrieked. The drawer caught fire and the computer and headsets started to melt.

Lian was stunned into silence for a moment. He quickly got up and grabbed Seth'ius's arm, "Father. I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Seth'ius shoved Lian back into the bed.

Lian grunted with the force that he landed with. He sat up, "Father! I wasn't trying to hurt anyone! Please! Please stop!" He felt a lump forming in his throat but ignored it, "I won't do it again! Please. Please just stop."

Seth'ius grabbed Lian's notebook off of his deck and held it in front of Lian's face, "You won't do it again?"

Lian reached for the notebook but white chains wrapped around it. He squeaked in pain and pulled away from it. His finger tips quickly turned red and then started to blister.

The notebook caught fire.

Seth'ius snarled, "You didn't mean it? You weren't trying to hurt anyone?"

Tears started to run down Lian's face. He whimpered, "M-my notebook."

Seth'ius crushed the notebook into ashes and threw the ashes into Lian's face.

Lian flinched and coughed.

Seth'ius grabbed Lian by his chin and neck and dragged him closer to him, "Don't you ever betray your family like this again. Do you understand me?"

Lian nodded.

Seth'ius let him go.

Lian fell forward. He caught himself and managed to clamber ungracefully back onto the bed.

Seth'ius turned away from him, "Stop crying over this waste of time and clean it up." He stalked towards the door. Before he left he warned, "If it isn't cleaned up by dinner, Mii'lian, you are going to be in even more trouble." The door slammed shut.

Silence weighed down on the room suddenly.

The fox snarled.

Lian patted it's head with one hand. He sat numbly on his bed.

About twenty minutes later Lian wiped his tears away and got to his feet. He put his hoodie back on and wrapped his arms around his torso. He took a deep shaky breath and cleaned everything up. He worked silently until his room was pristine again, not a mark on the walls or the desk or anything. He cleaned out the desk drawer he had turned into the mouse's home and threw away everything he had made for the mouse. He threw away his pens, all of which he had almost chewed through completely. His face was blank and his mind was empty. He ignored the burning sensation in the fingers that had touched his notebook.

Seth'ius fetched Lian for dinner and checked the state of his room. He didn't knock, again.

Lian jumped and turned to the door. He quickly lowered his gaze, "I cleaned my room, like you asked, Father."

Seth'ius nodded, "I can see as much, thank you Mii'lian."

Lian took calm controlled breaths, even as fear placed an invisible weight on his chest.

Seth'ius stepped out of the doorway, "Go down to dinner. If you ever try anything so inconsiderate again, you'll face far worse than just the evidence of your betrayal being destroyed."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father. I won't do it again."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"My Lord, I am growing concerned. Mii'lian has a disturbing amount of similarities to the Old God of the Sky and Sea. He prefers books to interacting with others. And he does not get along with any of his classmates."

Seth'ius nodded, "Thank you. I will speak with him about it." Seth'ius paced back and forth in front of the doors to the palace but he looked up when his three oldest children walked up.

Lian was wet up to his ankles.

Seth'ius's eyes narrowed in anger. "I have told you to stay out of the water, have I not, Mii'lian?" His voice was cold and hard.

Lian kept his head low, "You have."

Seth'ius's voice started to rise, "Why do you continue to enter it? How many times do I have to tell you it's dangerous?"

Lian still didn't look at him and mumbled, "I don't know."

"Look at me," Seth'ius ordered.

Lian clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. He lifted his head and looked at his father. He was careful not to meet the man's gaze.

Mayu took a deep breath and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Do not. Enter. The water. I am getting very tired of you not listening to me. I am protecting you. And I will take your safety and well being into my own hands if you will not do as I say."

Lian nodded, lowered his gaze, and apologized.

"Room. Now. I have something else to speak with you about once I speak with your siblings."

Lian left silently. The moment he was out of sit of his father he picked up his pace to a jog until he reached his room. He closed the door and sat on his bed.

The fox rested it's head in his lap and licked his hand while he scratched under it's chin.

Lian jumped when Seth'ius opened the door to his room. He leaned away from him when he sat down next to him on his bed.

Seth'ius's voice was still cold as he said, "Your instructor tells me you aren't getting along with your classmates."

Lian didn't look at him, "No. I don't."

"Why not?" Seth'ius snapped.

"I don't know." Lian shrugged.

"Have you made any attempts to get along with them?"

Lian shrugged, "No."

"Why not?" Seth'ius snapped again.

Lian petted the fox, "They're human. They're not immortal. Why bother? When they're gonna die long before I do."

Seth'ius's anger waned to annoyance, "That's it? You're just afraid of them dying? You know full well they will be with The Dead Mother. They'll be well taken care of."

Lian nodded, "I know."

Seth'ius stood, "Actually interact with your classmates before you decide you don't like them." He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Lian covered his face with his hands and leaned back until he was lying on the bed.

The fox got up and sat on his chest and started licking his chin.

Lian giggled and pulled his hands off of his face to gently push the fox away, "That tickles! Stop it!" He rolled over onto his stomach.

The fox laid down on it's stomach next to him and barked.

Lian looked at it and sighed, "You're probably right, Buddy." He pulled his closest arm out from under him and petted it.

A knock on his door made him jump. He sat bolt upright and folded his hands in his lap. He started to pick at the callouses on his fingers.

"Lian. Can Daria and I come in?" Mayu's voice echoed into his room.

"Sure."

Daria opened the door. "Father told us you said you didn't like people." He said instantly. He stood next to Lian's bed, looking down at him.

Mayu sat down next to Lian and wrapped her arm loosely around his shoulders.

Lian scowled, "That's not quite what I said." He looked away from him older siblings and stared at the spotless white curtains that covered his window, "But no. I don't like people."

Daria crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to his left leg, "Why not?"

Lian rolled his eyes, "People are judgmental, closed minded, and superstitious. And they're perfectly content to talk about nothing that matters. Yet they all get bent out of shape when someone mentions something important."

"Like what?" Daria snapped, "If you can't provide examples-"

"Like," Lian interrupted sharply, "the fact that they worship Mother, view her as a queen, and yet her people are still seen as lesser citizens."

Daria shrugged, "The elves probably prefer it that way."

Mayu sighed, "Mother's people are quiet, like her, yes. But it seems to be a forced silence. They're tense. They walk with their heads held high but their eyes dart like they're afraid of something."

Lian smirked triumphantly at Daria.

"According to Father, it is their job to bring that up if they have in issue with it," Daria insisted.

Lian pressed his lips in an effort to keep from making a comment that would get him in trouble. "Can you guys get out? I want to be alone," He broke the tense silence.

"Seriously?" Daria asked angrily, "You can't just kick us out when you start getting uncomfortable-"

Lian felt every muscle in his body tense. But before he could say anything Mayu interrupted Daria. "It's his bedroom, Daria'lis. He can kick us out whenever he likes," she stated firmly. She got to her feet and made her way to the door. She waited there for Daria to follow her.

Daria stared at her in indignant shock for a handful of seconds. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Fine." He pulled open the door and left the room without looking at Lian.

Mayu returned to Lian and gently placed her hand on top of his head, "Don't be by yourself too long. It won't do you any good."

Lian nodded, "I won't."

The next day Kayla was out practicing her magic with Tasha and their father. She formed a scythe out of flames and grinned at her older sister.

Tasha fell easily into a defensive stance and put her shield in front of her. She nodded to Kayla.

Kayla leaped forward. The scythe twirled and spun, occasionally hitting an invisible wall.

"Be sure to hit Tasha's shield with every hit!" Seth'ius commanded. He stood off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest watching them. "Don't worry about hitting her. She can take it."

Kayla nodded, "Yes, Daddy!" She jumped back and focused intently on her sister's broad silver, white and gold shield. Her face hardened with determination.

Tasha swallowed and repositioned her shield quickly.

Kayla leaped forward again. This time she only hit the invisible wall twice. Otherwise she hit Tasha's shield with every hit. The shield was left unmarked at the end of it all. Both girls were panting. Tasha was slightly unsteady.

"Sorry," Kayla apologized sweetly.

"Don't apologize," Seth'ius said, "You did very well."

Tasha nodded.

Kayla smiled, "Okay!" She cocked her head to the side when she noticed Lian walking through the courtyard towards the gate over Tasha's shoulder. She jogged up to him, "Lian!" She skipped to a halt in front of him and clasped her hands behind her back. She smiled sweetly, "Hi!"

Lian instantly shot an uneasy glance in Seth'ius's direction.

Their father watched him closely.

Lian turned back to Kayla, "I can't really-"

"Do you wanna join us? We're practicing magic!"

Lian shook his head and glanced at Seth'ius again, "No. No. I'm good."

Kayla studied him for a moment. Her bright grass green eyes bored into him, "What are your powers, Lian?"

Lian raised his eyebrows in surprise but quickly cleared his expression. He shrugged, "I don't know."

Kayla frowned, "You don't know? That's weird. You're so much older than me though."

"Well, maybe I don't have powers."

"But we all have powers," Kayla insisted.

"Well...maybe not," Lian muttered.

Kayla smiled and leaned closer to him. "I think you have powers," she whispered.

Lian chuckled, "Thanks Kayla."

"Kayla!" Seth'ius called.

Kayla pouted.

Lian tensed and started to walk past her.

Kayla waved at him, "Bye bye, Brother!"

Lian waved back awkwardly, "Bye."

"Daddy?" Kayla asked as she approached Seth'ius, "Why doesn't the ocean have any life if Lian is the new god of the sea?"

Lian hung back to listen to the answer.

"It's because of the Old God's treachery. And all the life died when that demon was sealed away. Unfortunately your mother could do nothing about it. The ocean is not her domain."

Lian rolled his eyes, "Should've guessed Father would pin the blame on that guy." He hurried towards the gate of the palace.

Once he made it to the gate he relaxed and slowed his pace.

"Eavesdropping, Lian? That's not like you."

Lian jumped and spun around.

Loc stood behind him with a knowing smirk on his face and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Lian relaxed and crossed his arms over his chest. He put on the most disdainful expression he could muster, "Why do you care?" He studied his younger brother.

Loc wasn't bothered by the intensity of his gaze, "I don't." He shrugged, "I'm just wondering why you seem to believe the Old God of the Sky and Sea isn't to blame."

Lian rolled his eyes, "That guy probably doesn't even exist. There's no proof."

Loc nodded, "Oh." His smirk broadened into a grin, "What happens when you find proof?"

Lian sighed, "There is no proof. People have looked and looked and looked."

Loc's grin didn't fade, "There could be."

"Where?" Lian demanded, "Historians have looked _everywhere_."

Loc raised an eyebrow, "Have they really? Everywhere?" He walked forward and patted Lian's head, "You'll figure it out. You are after all, the New God of the Sea."

Lian's eyes narrowed, "Why did you even tell me that?"

Loc shrugged, "You told me you didn't believe in him." He bowed slightly but kept his gaze fixed on Lian's face, "A secret for a little bit of information is how I work. How I've always worked." His face softened into a warm smile, "Your fox misses you when you're at class. See you around, Big Brother."

Lian watched Loc skip away in surprise, "Really? He does?" The shadows of a smile crossed his face, "That's nice." He growled suddenly, "Dammit, Loc. You still haven't told me his name!" He left the palace and wandered in the general direction of the school he attended. He was the only one with classes that day because he had to make up the time he'd skipped over the week.

Lian's mind wandered. He mulled over what Loc had said. "Have they not looked everywhere?" He chewed his lower lip, going over a mental list of all the places historians had looked in order to find evidence of the Old God of the Sea. He was, oddly enough, the only one that didn't have any solid evidence of his existence. All of the other Old Gods' Seal Locations had been found within a few tens of thousands of years. Lian stopped the train of thought abruptly, "I am going to _die_ if I go looking for him." He scowled, "Dammit, Loc. Are you trying to get me in trouble?"

He arrived late to his classes but no one said anything to him. He walked down the currently empty halls. He remained lost in thought as opposed to paying any attention in his classes. Within an hour he was the most bored he'd ever been.

In between his third and fourth classes, he used a side door to leave the building. He trotted to a nearby canal, scaled the wall with practiced ease, and rode the water over the edge of the cliff. He climbed out onto the warm sand and sat down. He crossed his legs and buried his right hand in the sand. He wiggled his fingers and giggled. The way it moved between his fingers was oddly entertaining.

Lian found his gaze drawn to the ocean. It was still, and clear. The sun's light reflected off the water, and the millions of coins underneath the surface. He got to his feet and waded into the water. He picked up a couple of the fresher coins and studied them. They weren't very valuable coins, and some were even fake. He tossed them back into the water and made his way back to the beach, "At least they aren't throwing away a lot of money. I'd worry if they did."

He sat back down and stared at the ocean. He didn't really know how long he sat there in silence. It didn't matter. He had the whole day. Seth'ius wouldn't send Daria until an instructor informed his father he hadn't been in most of his classes. And that wouldn't happen until the end of classes when an instructor finally had some spare time.

"It'd be nice to have something to talk to that'll talk back, ya know?" he said eventually. He lowered his gaze, "I spend almost all of my time by myself. Every time I try to talk to one of my siblings Father always glares at me. The way he does when I'm in trouble." He grabbed a handful of sand and started to pull the darker grains out of it. He set them all down in a pile next to him. "But nobody else even wants to come near me. I really don't get it. Why does everybody treat me like I'm...corrupted?" He sighed and let the sand slide through his fingers. He scraped his hand over the sand to disperse it. His gaze turned to the sky. He put his hands behind his head and laid down on his back, "Why is Daria worshiped and treated with kindness and respect and I'm not? They're afraid of the Old God _of the Sky and the Sea_. Right?" He closed his eyes, "It makes no sense."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lian opened his eyes to the sand shifting under him like it was alive. He shrieked and clambered to his feet. He glared around him and angrily crossed his arms over his chest, "Kala! Stop that!"

Kala rose from the sand nearby, looking amused and very pleased with himself, "What's the matter, Mii'lian? Did I wake you up?"

Lian flopped back onto the ground, "You did."

Kala's amusement faded, "A good thing I did though. You should be in class."

"Father didn't send you, did he? He never sends you."

Kala shook his head, "No. He didn't. He sent Daria'lis. As always."

Lian's eyes narrowed, "Then why wake me up?"

Kala shrugged, "I wanted to hear you shriek. It's always an entertaining sound. And it's not often you sleep out in the open like this."

Lian rolled his eyes and threw a handful of sand at Kala, "Go away."

Kala calmly sent a wave of sand Lian's way.

Lian sat up, spitting out sand, "You ass!"

Kala laughed, "You're welcome." He dissolved into particles of sand.

Lian continued spitting out sand and coughed. "'You're welcome.' God dammit."

"Mii'lian!"

Lian rolled his eyes, "I know. I know. The water is dangerous. Blah blah bl-" He stopped suddenly. His eyes widened in realization. "The water is dangerous," he whispered. He scrambled to his feet and stared at the ocean in wonder, "People haven't looked everywhere."

"Mii'lian!" Daria grabbed his arm.

Lian pulled away from him and hissed, "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?!"

"Then listen to me!" Daria commanded.

"I'm listening!" Lian snarled, "Just stop grabbing me!"

"What are you doing out here again?" Daria asked coldly, "You're supposed to be in class."

"I was messing with Kala," Lian explained shortly.

"Stop lying, Mii'lian. You don't ever talk to Kala."

Lian's anger faded instantly. He stared at his older brother, painful surprise etched into his face. The anger quickly returned tenfold, "I'm not lying! He threw sand at me!"

Daria wasn't convinced, "We'll see what Kala has to say."

Lian's jaw hung open. He didn't have anything to say, but wanted to say something. Anything really. Convince Daria, somehow, that he was telling the truth.

Daria either didn't notice or ignored him and stalked away.

Lian's teeth clicked as his mouth closed. He lowered his head and gaze and followed his older brother.

Daria filled Seth'ius in on everything and Seth'ius sent Daria to get Kala.

Kala walked in, a carefully crafted calm expression barely hiding his intense discomfort, "Yes, Father? Daria'lis said you wished to speak with me."

Seth'ius motioned dismissively to Lian, "Is it true that you and Mii'lian were messing around in the sand by the ocean?"

Kala nodded, "It is."

"And you did not go into the ocean?"

Kala shook his head, "Of course not, Father."

Seth'ius nodded and turned to Lian, "You know that you should be in class. That is your responsibility. Your duty. Treat it with more respect. Don't leave your room until I say you can. Is that understood?"

Lian nodded but didn't raise his gaze, "Yes, Father."

"Go," Seth'ius ordered.

Lian left the room. His steps were quick, short, and tense.

Daria turned to Kala in disbelief, "Really?"

Kala nodded, "I would never lie to Father, Daria'lis. You know that."

"You never talk to Mii'lian," Daria insisted.

Kala stared at him for a moment. He shook his head and the calm expression returned, "We're still family. And just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it never happens. We mess with each other quite a bit." Kala turned on his heel and strode away.

Loc appeared in front of Kala in the hallway, "You omitted some details."

Kala sighed, "Really, Loc?" He crossed his arms over his chest, "Do you eavesdrop on everything?"

Loc shrugged, "Who knows?" He cocked his head to the side, "How come?"

Kala shook his head, somewhere between amused and annoyed, "Mii'lian has seemed a little off the past few days."

Loc smiled, "You noticed too?"

Kala nodded, "Most of us have. The only one blind enough not to is Daria."

Loc nodded, "And the only one that isn't here to see it is Aria."

Kala nodded. He instinctively waved his left hand. He winced and grabbed his wrist. "Is that all you want, Loc?" He asked.

Loc held out his hand pleadingly, "Can I have another statue, please?"

Kala sighed and held up his right hand. A rock appeared in it and sculpted itself into a figurine of a rabbit. He gave it over to Loc and watched his younger brother skip happily away with a smile on his face. He shook his head.

"Kala."

Kala turned to see Mayu standing behind him. He smiled warmly at her, "Yeah, Mayu?"

Mayu returned his smile, "Father wanted me to ask you to check on the state of the cliff. Make sure it's still stable."

Kala nodded, "Of course."

"What would you like for dinner tonight?" Mayu asked.

Kala tapped the fingers of his right hand against his chin thoughtfully, "Um..." Eventually he stopped, "Stuffed shells, please."

Mayu nodded, "I'll see what I can do."

Kala smiled, "You're the best, Sis."

Mayu chuckled, "I try." She placed her hand on his head for a moment before turning and jogging away.

Kala skipped down the stairs and out into the courtyard. He disappeared into the stones that made up the path and reappeared in the garden.

Tasha played a game of catch with Kayla as he walked up.

Both girls lifted their heads.

Kayla ran up and gave him a hug. She grabbed his right hand and dragged him over to Tasha, "Come join us! We're playing a game!"

Kala smiled but shook his head, "Sorry, Kiddo. I don't have the time right now. I got something I gotta do before dinner or Father is gonna be angry with me."

Kayla pouted, "Okay."

Tasha nodded to Kala. She glanced at his left arm, "How's your arm?"

Kala shrugged, "As good as it ever is these days." He looked around, "I hate to interrupt but you wouldn't mind helping me out real quick, would you?" He looked hopefully at Tasha.

Tasha nodded, "Of course. I'd be more than happy to help." She glanced at Kayla, "How dangerous is it?"

Kala shook his head, "It's not dangerous at all. We're just checking the integrity of the cliff. Regular check up type stuff."

"Mind if Kayla comes along?"

"Of course not," Kala shook his head. He led the girls out of the courtyard. He disappeared into the cobblestones and reappeared on the other side of the gate instead of opening it.

Kala turned to Kayla once they reached the beach, "Stay here alright? We'll be right over there." He motioned to the cliff, "Call if you need us."

Kayla nodded, "Yep!" She sat down on the ground and smiled up at her siblings, "I'll draw in the sand until your done!"

Tasha nodded, "Alright." She paused, "Remember, don't stray too far. Or we won't be able to find you."

Kayla nodded, "Yes, Tash."

Tasha smiled. She followed Kala to the cliff.

Kayla started to draw her family as stick figures in the sand. She drew all eight of her siblings and her parents. She giggled to herself about how not like who they were supposed to be they looked. But once she finished that drawing she got bored. She got up and started walking around in what amounted to a decently large circle.

Motion at the edge of her vision caught her attention. Lian was making his way down the beach, but sticking close to the tree line that marked the forest that was nearby. She grinned and ran up to him, "Lian! What're you doing out here?"

Lian stiffened and stared at her, "K-Kayla? I'm...uh...not doing anything?"

Kayla cocked her head to the side, "You don't sound so sure."

Lian barely contained the panic rising in him, "Listen, Kayla, you gotta promise that you won't tell anybody you saw me here."

"What are you doing?" Kayla asked curiously.

"Well...I'm...uh..."

Kayla gasped, "Are you going into the water?!"

"SSSSHHH!" Lian hissed.

"Sorry!" Kayla murmured.

Lian swallowed and glanced around nervously, "Promise you'll tell _no one_ , Kayla. I can get into a lot of trouble."

Kayla grinned excitedly, "Can I come?"

"Are you insane?! No!"

Kayla's face fell. Her eyes started to redden and fill with tears, "You think I'm insane?"

"No no no no no!" Lian insisted, "That's not what I meant! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't cry!"

Kayla started to cry.

"No. No. Please." Lian started to really panic. He glanced around and ran his face down his hands. "Fine," he said suddenly, "If you stop crying I'll bring you along. Like you want."

Kayla sniffled, "R-Really?"

Lian nodded, "Yeah."

Kayla leaped up and hugged him, "Yay!" There was no trace of tears in her eyes anymore. She wiped her cheeks and grinned.

Lian sighed, "C'mon."

Kayla followed him towards the water. He waded into it without hesitating. The moment he came into contact with it it started to move and flow. Kayla hesitated. The water wasn't supposed to move. It never had.

Lian saw her standing at the edge of the water, looking from him to it and back again nervously. He held out his hand, "C'mon. It's not scary or dangerous. I promise."

Kayla swallowed, "You promise?"

Lian nodded, "I'm the god of the sea, remember?"

Kayla nodded, "Yeah!"

Lian grabbed her hand and gently led her into the water. He created an air bubble around her that would allow her to breathe as they were submerged.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Kayla!" Tasha called. She looked around. Panic gripped her. Her breathing shortened into quick gasps. Images of her precious little sister's body lying mangled in the woods somewhere flooded her mind. Where had she gone? She looked around again, "Kayla!"

Kala looked around. He wore the crafted calm expression and his voice was empty, "She's not here."

Tasha stared at him in horror, "Where is she?!"

Kala shook his head, "I don't know." He put his hand on Tasha's shoulder to keep her from storming into the forests to look for the youngest herself, "We have to let Father know. Meet me at the palace."

Tasha glared at him, defiance plain on her face for a long moment. Eventually she sighed, "Very well."

Kala dissolved into sand.

Tasha bolted through the city at super-human speed. She reached the gate just as Kala appeared on the other side. She didn't bother closing the gate behind her. The two of them rushed into the palace.

Seth'ius paced while Mayu, Daria, and Nissa stood nearby in a semi circle. All of them looked at the doors as Kala and Tasha entered.

"Where's Kayla?" Seth'ius asked harshly.

Kala shook his head, "We don't know, Father. I needed Tasha's help. So we left Kayla at the beach, far from the ocean, with explicit orders to stay where she was. Now she's nowhere on either of the beaches, or the nearby plains."

Loc appeared, "Lian isn't in the forests."

Kala glanced at Loc in surprise before turning a questioning gaze to Mayu.

"Is Mii'lian missing too?" Tasha asked.

Daria nodded, "He wasn't in his room when Father went to check on him. And he's not in the palace at all."

Seth'ius glared at the window, "It's almost nightfall. We _have_ to find them. Before the corrupted do."

Every one present nodded, except Nissa. She simply watched Seth'ius. She studied him with a piercing green gaze.

"Split up," Seth'ius ordered, "Find them." The room emptied quickly as all of the kids scattered to search.

"Corrupted, Seth'ius?" Nissa asked calmly, "We both know there haven't been any corrupted on this continent in thousands of years."

"Silence," Seth'ius snarled. He shoved past Nissa and stalked out of the room.

Nissa watched him through narrowed eyes.

Lian and Kayla were deep in the ocean. Light shouldn't reach down there and yet something illuminated the waters around them. The water was filled with remnants of surface plant species that were white and skeletal without explanation. There were bones under the sand that the sudden motion of the water scraped away. Bones of sea creatures, and surface animals alike. They passed through the ruins of some old cities. Like the plants it was all washed white but otherwise the cities were still mostly intact.

Kayla looked around and clung to Lian. Her eyes were wide with fear and she scanned all around them, "What happened? I'm scared."

"There's nothing to be scared about. It's what happens to stuff over time," Lian tried to comfort her. He didn't feel like he was doing a good job. But she seemed to be doing better.

"Really?" Kayla asked, "Why don't our cities look like this yet?"

"Well...we keep them up," Lian explained, "We make sure that they're in their best condition, always."

Kayla studied him for a moment, "Lian, why are we down here?"

Lian swallowed, "Well, I- I'm looking for proof."

"Proof?" Kayla repeated.

Lian nodded, "Of Father's stories. Proof they exist."

"Oh," Kayla nodded. Her eyes widened in surprise, "Wait? You don't believe Father's stories?"

Lian blinked, "Um-No-That's-That's not quite what I meant. I just...The water can't be that dangerous. I mean the sky isn't. People fly all the time. Daria can fly. But for some reason the sea is still feared."

Kayla nodded, "Oh. I get it now. Okay."

The two of them continued to explore the ocean. Deeper. And deeper. And deeper. Yet the water remained illuminated. Like something was lighting their way. The ruins became more desolate and worn down. And older. Everything was older. Like the farther they got from the beach, the farther back in time they went. The deeper into history they went. Everything was still the same washed out white.

"Now we have proof that nothing really lives down here," Kayla broke the silence with a disappointed observation.

Lian sighed, "Yeah. Unfortunately. Mother once told me that fish could be anywhere from really really tiny to really _huge_. And that they could be any color. Any color at all. And some fish actually breathed air but could hold their breath for a really really long time."

Kayla started giggling, "They must've looked so funny."

Lian smiled, "Who knows?" He paused, "Do you think they held their breath in their cheeks?"

Kayla blew air into her cheeks and held it for as long as she could before breathing out and laughing.

Lian giggled, "Where else would they hold it?!"

Kayla shook her head, "I don't know." She repeated, "They must've looked so funny."

Lian laughed.

"Do you think they had eyes?" Kayla asked, "Because...it hurts to get water in your eyes."

Lian chewed his lip thoughtfully, "Maybe their eyes have a protective something. To keep them from hurting."

Kayla nodded, "Maybe. Maybe they used their other senses instead of their eyes." She gasped, "Or what if they could see without eyeballs! Like the way the Oracle sees the future!"

Lian nodded enthusiastically, "That would be really cool actually!"

They continued, and continued discussing their theories about fish as they did so. Eventually they came across a structure composed entirely of very large stone slabs. Some stood at their full height while others were laid across the tops of the standing stones on their sides. It created a towering circular structure. A pale blue light bathed the entire area in a dim glow.

Lian cocked his head to the side and led Kayla around one of the stones. He was completely consumed with curiosity. Where was the light coming from? What was this place? Questions filled his mind.

Lian gasped. They had finally come around one of the stones and in front of them, chained to the bottom of the ocean laid a man with dark hair, pale skin, dressed mostly in blue. His eyes were closed and he seemed completely relaxed. Almost asleep. He was lying on his back, wrapped in bright golden chains. The blue light cam from a seal that hovered in front of him. Lian didn't recognize the symbols that made up the seal, but it was easy to deduce that it was extremely powerful magic. Magic strong enough to seal a god.

Lian rested his feet on the ground and slowly approached the man, his head cocked to the side. He didn't blink, mesmerized, watching the seal ever so slowly rewrite itself.

"Lian!" Kayla called out worriedly. She looked around her, terror and panic devouring her, drowning out her every thought. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do.

Lian didn't hear her. He reached out and barely set his fingers in the center of the seal. He breathed in sharply as his mind was filled with images. A lively city filled with bright colors and _huge_ buildings and creatures believed to be long since dead. More people than Lian had ever seen walked along the walkways. Humans, elves, and other peoples he didn't recognize.

He was jerked away from it all by a blood curdling scream. He jumped and spun around.

Kayla was curled on her knees on the ocean floor holding her face in her hands, screaming and crying. "He lied! He lied!"

Lian rushed over to her and knelt beside her, "Who lied? What's going on? Kayla?! Are you okay?!"

Kayla didn't appear to have heard him and continued to scream.

 _Take her back up._

Lian didn't question the command. He wrapped his arm around Kayla's shoulders and rested his other hand on the shoulder closest to him. He took her back up to the surface.

Kala lifted his head, "They're on the beach." He darted out of the palace and disappeared into the cobblestones in the courtyard. Tasha followed him and charged through the city as fast as she could go. Daria climbed out the window and jumped into the air. He flew towards the beach, scanning the world beneath him for any sign of them. Mayu and Seth'ius followed on foot.

Lian sat on his knees, "What's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?" He tried to get Kayla to sit up but she was stiff as a board and refused to move.

He jumped and looked up as Kala rose from the sand in front of him. Tasha slowed to a halt a moment later. Tasha hurried to Kayla, "You took her into the water?! What is wrong with you?!"

"We've been told, Mii'lian!" Kala yelled.

Tasha pulled Kayla to her feet and held her, "It's okay. I'm not going to let anything hurt you. You're safe."

Lain panicked. He shook his head but kept his gaze on the ground, "I know! I know! She begged me to come! I tried to tell her no but she started to cry! I didn't want her to cry! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" He got unsteadily to his feet. He still wasn't used to standing again.

Kala shook his head, "You are in huge trouble." He was almost sympathetic, "It's been days."

Lian lifted his head and stared at him. His face cycled through a multitude of emotions before settling on soul consuming fear. "Days?" His voice was low and shaky, "How many days?"

"Four," Kala stepped back so Daria, Mayu and Seth'ius could reach Lian.

Seth'ius was livid. He silently grabbed Lian's arm and dragged him away.

"Ow!" Lian cried. He stumbled after his father. Slowly the fear faded. He went numb. He knew what was coming.

Mayu turned to Kala, "Make sure the others get home. Dry Kayla off and put her to bed. She needs sleep."

Kala nodded.

Mayu followed Seth'ius and Daria.

Kala took a deep breath. He steeled himself, "C'mon, Loc. I know you're there."

Loc appeared a small distance away. He glanced after Seth'ius, "What's gonna happen to Lian?" His voice trembled.

Kala shook his head, "I don't know." He led his siblings into the palace through a back entrance, just in case what was happening with Lian wasn't pretty.

Kayla said nothing except "He lied." over and over the entire way. But she had stopped screaming and her crying had calmed to whimpering.

Her siblings manage to get her dried off. Tasha sat her down on her bed and sat next to her, "What's wrong? Who lied, Kayla?"

Kayla burst into tears. She sobbed, "He lied. He lied about everything. It's all wrong."

Tasha had no choice but to hold Kayla until she cried herself to sleep.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"What did you do to your sister?!" Seth'ius snarled.

"I didn't do anything!" Lian snapped defensively.

"Enough lying!" Seth'ius roared.

"I'm not lying!" Lian insisted, "I swear I didn't do anything!"

"You and your sister are soaked to the bone," Seth'ius stalked towards him, "What. Did. You. Do."

Lian glared a Seth'ius, a snarky comment on the tip of his tongue. The glare morphed into wide-eyed terror in an instant. Lian back away from his father as fast as he could without falling backwards. He kept his gaze low. "I didn't do anything," he mumbled.

"Stop lying, Arkos'mii'lian," Seth'ius's face was close enough to Lian's that he could feel his breath, hot and rapid in his face. Their noses were almost touching.

Lian pressed himself against the wall but didn't dare turn his face away.

Mayu closed her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line. She took three very long very deep breaths.

Seth'ius's hands rested on his sword, ready to pull it out of it's sheath, "If you got your youngest sister corrupted, Mii'lian, you will wish you were never born. Do you-"

A wall of tree branches and vines rose up between Seth'ius and Lian. They cocooned Lian to the wall.

Lian covered his face with his hands. He whole body shook. He leaned forward, curling up as much as standing would allow him to.

"That is _enough_ , Seth'ius," Nissa commanded. She stood in the doorway. Her eyes glowed. Glowing green vines composed entirely of magical energy wrapped around her arms and shoulders. Her gaze was calm and icy.

Seth'ius growled and stepped away from Lian.

The cocoon retracted back into the ground.

"To your rooms." Seth'ius glared at Lian, "All of you."

Lian shot out of the room, up the stairs, and slammed his bedroom door closed.

Mayu and Daria walked down the hall more slowly. Mayu shook her head, "Father went too far."

"Father is just trying to protect Mii'lian. If our brother wasn't so stubborn-"

"No." Mayu's voice was hard. She fixed her only older sibling with a steely glare, "That's _not_ protection. In that mindset, Seth'ius could've killed Lian. Would have, even. But you can tell yourself whatever you want if that makes you comfortable." She stalked away.

Daria stared after her. He shook his head, "The emotions of everybody must have really gotten to her today." He sighed, "I can't say I'm surprised. Today's been rough."

Lian leaned against his bedroom door. His legs felt weak. And his body felt oddly numb. He couldn't really tell if he was crying. But he didn't care to know. His ears rang. He jumped and stiffened when footsteps echoed outside of his door. His breath caught in his throat. His chest tightened. He hid in the closet, curled up in the corner farthest from the door. He was still shaking.

Mayu knocked on Lian's bedroom door. He didn't answer. "Sorry," she breathed as she opened the door. She looked around. He was in is room. She knew. She could feel all of his scattered, sickeningly intense emotions rolling off of him in waves. She closed her eyes and focused on him. Her own feelings, the worry, the sadness, all washed away. They were replaced with fear, confusion, anger, hopelessness, and a thousand other things.

Mayu turned towards Lian's closet. She opened the door carefully.

Lian jumped and lifted his head quickly. His eyes were wide and his breathing ragged.

"It's alright. It's me. You're safe," Mayu promised. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, "You're alright."

Lian covered his face with his hands. He didn't fight Mayu when she pulled him into her. She petted him, "You're alright. Mother wouldn't let anything happen to you." She pressed her lips together, "I wish I was strong enough to protect you. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Lian mumbled. He scratched at his fingers and peeled off the skin that came up, "Not even Mother is strong enough to really stop him."

Mayu grabbed his hands and held them, "Maybe that'll change."

Lian was falling asleep. He mumbled something incomprehensible.

Mayu sighed, "Good night Lian."

Lian didn't respond.

Lian stuck to Mayu like glue for weeks. He avoided all of his other siblings, Kayla and Tasha especially. He said nothing, did nothing, and went nowhere unless it was required of him.

He still couldn't sit through his classes. He wandered the city, alone, and found himself in the Center. Smooth stone walkways wove in and around the grassy flower filled meadows. Sparse trees provided shade to the benches that sat under them. Deer, rabbits, mice, and birds of various sorts were the most common animals of the Center. It was meant to be a place of serenity and peace in the middle of the city. In reality it was just a place where people brought their whining screaming children and left trash in their wake.

Lian could clearly remember helping Loc clean the place up on multiple occasions. It was one of Loc's few responsibilities. They had fed the animals when they were done. Not that there wasn't plenty of food for them in the Center. Loc spoiled the rabbits and deer especially. Lin was a little more partial to the birds. They were cute. And one of them had actually landed on his hand.

Lian sat down on a bench and watched people walk by. It was a quiet day. Loc had likely recently been by to clean all the trash. He rested his elbows on his knees and sighed, "It's warm today. I wish Daria would make it cooler." He chewed his lip, "But obviously cold means darkness and corruption. So it's gotta be warm. _All the time_." He leaned back and stretched his arms across the top of the bench. He turned his head to the sky. He squinted against the sunlight filtering through the tree's leaves, "And it's not just warm. It's hot. Like what the hell? Can we please at the very least get some clouds? Oh wait. You can't cover the sun without Father's permission. Can't do anything without Father's permission. Why? Because otherwise you might as well throw yourself into the ocean so Father can lock you away with the Old God of the Sky and Sea." He rolled his eyes. At this point throwing himself into the ocean to be locked away didn't sound like a bad idea.

Lian looked down at the curious trio of rabbits that approached him. One was brown. One was white. The other one was white with grey splotches. Lian leaned forward again. He held down his hand.

The brown one approached him instantly and sniffed at his hand. It sat back and stared at him.

Lian chuckled, "I don't have any food, sorry, little guy."

The rabbited hopped back to the other two. It stared back at him for a moment. It hopped back up to him a second later. It laid down and rested it's head on his foot.

Lian sighed, "Alright. I can be your pillow, I guess."

"Mii'lian!"

Lian scowled, "Really? Classes haven't even ended yet." He lifted his head and glared at his older brother as he approached. His eyes narrowed, "What do you want, Daria? Here to fetch me for Father again?"

"Why are you never in class?" Daria demanded, "You know you're going to keep getting in trouble."

Lian rolled his eyes and sat back against the back of the bench. He studied Daria for a moment. "Well maybe I'd rather spend my days peacefully acting as a pillow for the rabbits in the Center."

Daria stared at him in confusion, "What?"

Lian motioned to the rabbit that was laying on his foot, "I am currently being used as a pillow by the Great Lord Hopster."

"Mii'lian," Daria was annoyed now.

"And I am perfectly content to remain a pillow for the Great Lord Hopster," Lian added, "Now if you don't mind, My Lord requires peace to sleep."

Daria rolled his eyes, "You aren't the servant to a rabbit, Mii'lian."

Lian smirked a little bit, "I never said I was. I simply said I was a pillow for the Great Lord Hopster."

"C'mon, Mii'lian." Daria moved to grab Lian's arm.

Lian snarled. His eyes narrowed angrily, "Don't. Grab. Me." He gently woke up the rabbit. It reluctantly hopped away from him. Lian rubbed it's cheek, "See ya later, Great Lord Hopster." He got to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. He glared at Daria, "I assume we're heading to the palace."

Daria shook his head, "I'm taking you back to class."

"Oh, so now you're the search dog for the instructors too?" Lian rolled his eyes and walked past his brother, "It must be such an honor." He decided he was going to go back to the palace.

Daria hurried after him, "Mii'lian!"

Lian continued on his chosen path. "I'd rather deal with Father than sit through another two hours of classes," he muttered to no one in particular.

"Father is going to be angry with you," Daria snapped.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Daria'lis, he's always angry with me," Lian shot back.

"He's just frustrated. He's trying to protect you and you're throwing it back in his face!" Daria insisted, "If you just listened and did as he said-"

"And blindly accepted everything at face value?" Lian shook his head, "You may be content with that existence but I'm not. I'd rather get in trouble a thousand times over than stop asking questions. It's just how I work. I have to know why. If Father doesn't like that then this is just how things are going to be for the rest of time." Lian's eyes narrowed, "I've tried, Daria. I just can't." He picked up his pace until he was running through the city. Maybe he'd be able to run from the guilt and anger that threatened to consume him.

Lian pulled to a stop in front of a canal. He stared at it blankly. His gaze hardened, "I don't want to go back to the palace. Not really." He scaled the wall and dropped into the canal. "Since Father will be angry with me anyway, I might as well wait until classes finish to head back."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lian surfed over the edge of the canal expecting to fall into the ocean. He squeaked when he saw a smooth glass-like walkway beneath him. He landed and rolled. He laid on his back for a couple moments, stunned and confused.

Lian got to his feet. He quickly realized that he had no idea where he was. His initial response was terror. All the stories he had been told of the other worlds of the multiverse ran through his mind, none of them very pleasant. Savages, cannibals, filthy cities filled with bodies of people that had starved to death shoved into the tight corners because nobody had bothered cleaning them up.

However, after he looked around the terror was replaced with wonder and curiosity. He was surrounded by towering buildings. The walkways were made of a dull glass-like material and were lined with gently shining pale blue lights along the edges. All manner of humanoid entities walked along the walkway past him. On one side of the walkway were shops of various sorts.

Lian walked over to a rose tinted window of a clothing shop. He studied the interior of the shop curiously. It appeared as though the workers in the shop were robots. Highly functional, intelligent robots. He started to grin and went inside. He wandered the shop, looking at the clothes, but mostly just studied the robots intently. Their appearances mimicked the organic races that populated the world. But they all had a panel on each of their inner forearms.

"I wonder what else is here!" Lian left the shop. He turned left on a whim and wandered down the walkway.

The world itself was dark. The sky was deep dark blue and black clouds floated through it. But the people were lively. The buildings and walkways all had lights in various colors illuminating them. A large mechanical crescent moon sat in the sky, bathing the world in a silvery glow. Dragons, sphinxes, griffins, and all manner of other creatures Lian didn't recognize flew across the sky. People smiled at him as he walked past. They didn't avoid contact with him, and they didn't give him any odd looks, despite the fact that he had literally fallen out of the sky only about a half hour before. Beneath him the buildings seemed to go on forever. He couldn't see the ground.

There were medium sized marble fountains, usually carved in the likeness of a dragon, on every street corner. Lian reached out and touched the water of one fountain. He gasped. The water was cold. He pulled his hand out of the water and shook it out.

Lian wandered to the District Fountain. Suddenly the mass of people doubled. He was small enough to squeeze through. At the center, surrounded by a circular walkway was a gigantic fountain. It was carved to resemble a traditional mermaid. Around her neck was a necklace whose charm was a clock. She was holding a basket that was tipped over and that was where the water came from. It poured over six levels. Flowers of various types floated in the water at the lowest level, where people could actually reach.

A little girl dragged an older boy up to the fountain, "C'mon! C'mon!" She held a handful of flowers in her hands. She gave half of them to the boy she was with and the two of them placed the flowers into the water. The little girl looked up at the mermaid wistfully, "Do you think he'll come back if we keep leaving gifts for him?"

"Of course," the boy nodded. He followed her gaze, his own expression hopeful.

Lian stared at them in shock, "They...who are the flowers for?" He didn't have the courage to go up to them and ask.

The boy grabbed the girl's hand, "We're gonna be lat for dinner."

Lian looked at the clock. It was late evening. He stiffened, "I am so dead." He swallowed. He didn't know how he got here. And he wasn't even sure if he wanted to leave. Instead he walked up to the fountain. Flowers weren't the only things in the water. There were shells, jewelry, coins, and all manner of other valuable and beautiful things sitting at the bottom of the fountain. Lian cocked his head to the side.

"Would you like a flower?"

Lian jumped and turned around. A young woman, the same physical age as Mayu held a blue rose out to him. He took it hesitantly, "S-Sure."

She smiled and walked up to the edge of the fountain. She pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket, "If you want the flower head to float on the water, the way the lilies do, you can cut the stem off." She cut the stem of her flower off and held the scissors out to him.

Lian took them. Initially it was a struggle to cut through the stem but he managed to get it on his third attempt. He set the flower gently in the water, "I thought this was just full of flowers." He glanced at the girl.

She shook her head, "Nope. People leave all sorts of things. As long as something is given to the water as a gift then it doesn't matter what it is."

Lian nodded, "Okay." He didn't want to look like any more of an outsider than he already did so he didn't say anything more.

"I'm Liliya," the girl held out her hand.

Lian eyed it warily but took it, "Lian."

Liliya smiled and shook his hand, "It was nice meeting you, Lian." She looked up at the clock, "I'm going to miss dinner if I don't hurry though." She nodded to him and disappeared into the crowd.

Lian stared at his hand. He shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered away from the fountain. He inevitably found himself standing in front of the ocean. Unlike the ocean back home, this one moved. It followed the laws of nature. He could feel the tides and the waves. The murmur of the water lapping at the beach echoed in his mind.

Lian sat at the edge of the walkway. His feet barely touched the surface of the water. He watched as around fifty little boats made their way out onto the water. People left flowers floating on it's surface. And plenty of people walked along the beach, played in the water. Kids ran into it giggling and shrieking in excitement. It was such a different atmosphere than what he was used to. It was overwhelming. Yet he couldn't help but smile.

"Mommy! Can we put flowers in the ocean?!"

"Another time, Honey. We aren't out to buy flowers right now."

"Okay!"

Lian chuckled and watched the mother and her young sun walk down the walkway past him. "That was adorable."

"Hey."

Lian stiffened and looked up in surprise. Two teenage boys stood next to him. One of them motioned to the ground next to him, "Mind if we sit?"

Lian stared at them for a moment, his mouth slightly open. He swallowed and shifted a little bit, "Go ahead." He quickly looked away and stared intently at the water. Every muscle in his body was tense. Waiting.

The two boys sat down on either side of him. The one that got his attention motioned over to where three other kids their age, two girls and another boy, were waiting on the beach next to the walkway, "Wanna come with us to put some flowers in the water? We need another person to get a boat all to ourselves."

Lian blinked and lifted his head to stare at them, "Uh..." He looked away sullenly, "Are you sure...you want me? I mean we don't know each other."

The other boy nodded, "It'll be fine. What's life without some new friends?"

"O-Okay." Lian got to his feet and followed the two boys over to their friends.

The first boy to speak smiled broadly, "I'm Jexus. He's my brother, Zven. The blond girl is Hailey and the brunette is Shanniah."

"And lastly is Sammy," Zven finished.

Lian waved awkwardly. Sammy and Shanniah both had baskets filled to the brim with flowers.

"What's your name?" Hailey asked.

Lian glanced at her. He lowered his gaze, "Um...Lian."

Hailey happily linked arms with him, "Welcome to the family!"

Shanniah laughed and shook her head, "Really, Hail?"

Lian was quite confused and didn't really know what to do with himself. He looked uncertainly at Jexus.

Jexus winked, "Just go with it."

The corners of Lian's mouth twitched but he didn't quite smile. He followed them to the boats and sat between Jexus and Hailey.

Jexus and Zven rowed them out into the ocean. Sammy and Shanniah put their baskets down in the center of the boat.

Lian cocked his head to the side, "This is probably a stupid question but..." He trailed off. He lowered his gaze and decided not to continue. What if they pushed him away for being different? Finally, someone was being nice to him. He didn't want to lose it so quickly.

"No such thing as a stupid question," Jexus assured him.

Lian swallowed. He didn't lift his gaze and mumbled, "Why do you put flowers in the water?"

"They're gifts," Zven explained, "for the Gods of the Sea."

"The old one and the new one," Hailey added.

"R-Really? You're not..." Lian trailed off again. He wanted to ask if they were afraid of the Old God of the Sea. Instead he asked, "You're not afraid of the water?"

"Why would we be?" Shanniah waved her hand almost dismissively, "The Old God of the Sea was Ravnica's leader before he was wrongfully imprisoned."

"Wrongfully imprisoned?" Lian repeated to himself. He felt like everything was crashing down around him. His thoughts raced and his head was starting to spin. "Oh."

"What's the story like on your world?" Sammy asked curiously.

Lian stiffened. He studied Sammy warily, "I-I didn't say I was from a different world."

Sammy shrugged, "Everyone here knows the story. You have to be from another world if you don't."

Lian shrugged, "Well. The oceans are all dead on my world. So they labeled the Old God of the Sea a traitor."

All of the kids with him gasped.

"He would never betray anyone!" Shanniah insisted angrily.

"Here," Zven offered, "We can take you to the library after this so you can catch up on the real story after this."

Lian studied each of their faces. When they showed no signs of doubt he stuttered, "O-Okay."

"Whoa!" Hailey yelled suddenly.

Lian jumped.

Sammy started to bounce excitedly, "It's a sea serpent!"

"Sea serpent?" Lian repeated.

"The serpents don't usually come this close to the surface," Hailey whispered in amazement.

Lian turned and leaned over the edge of the boat.

An electric blue creature with flaps on it's sides like fins slithered through the water just beneath the surface. It had two white stripes running down it's sides along the length of it's body.

Lian grinned. He reached out his hand towards it.

The serpent doubled back and rubbed it's boat sized white head against his hand. It returned to the water a moment later and disappeared into the depths of the water.

All of his new friends stared at Lian in shock but he didn't notice. He was too busy watching all of the sea life swimming beneath them. "They really are colorful. Just like Mother said," Lian whispered.

They all left Lian alone for a couple minutes.

Sammy asked, "Dude. Are you the New God of the Sea?"

Lian whipped around and stared at them. His eyes widened as he realized they were all staring at him, their eyes wide, mouths agape. He shrank and lowered his head. He folded his hands in his lap and hunched over, "Yeah."

"Really?" Shanniah breathed.

Lian nodded, "Yeah." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Holy..." Zven grinned suddenly, "That's so awesome!"

Lian jumped and stared at him, "A-Awesome?"

"Dude, we're friends with the _New God of the Sea_." Sammy whispered in amazement.

"We're friends?" Lian asked uncertainly, "But we just met."

"We welcomed you to the family, didn't we?" Hailey asked.

"Well, you welcomed him to the family, Hail," Shanniah corrected.

"Whichever," Hailey shrugged.

"I just thought..." Lian swallowed, "I didn't really think you were serious."

Jexus studied him for a long moment.

Lian shifted uncomfortably.

Finally Jexus asked, "Have you had friends before?"

Lian chewed his lower lip, "Well-I mean-" He sighed and stared at his hands, "No. Not really. On my world the old god is a traitor. Water is feared. It's evil. Nobody wanted to be my friend."

"And how long have you been alive for?" Shanniah asked.

"More than four hundred thousand years," Lian mumbled.

Sammy whistled, "That's a long time."

Hailey wrapped her arm around Lian's shoulders, "That's a long time to be lonely."

Lian shrugged, "I'm used to it."

"Here," Hailey grabbed some flowers from the basket and set them between her and Lian. She started to braid them into his hair. It wasn't easy since his hair wasn't particularly long. But his hair was long enough that it wasn't impossible.

Sammy grabbed a handful of flowers and threw them over Lian's head, "For the New God of the Sea!" He laughed.

"Ah!" Lian squeaked. He laughed.

They waited for Hailey to be done braiding his hair before they started to gently set flowers down on the ocean waters. Lian mostly listened in while the group bickered amongst themselves but he hadn't felt more wanted in his existence.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So, Lian. What do you do in your spare time?" Jexus asked. He threw his arm around Lian's shoulders.

Lian jumped and looked up at his friend. Jexus was a whole head taller than him but probably had the most adorable baby face Lian had ever seen. "Uh..." He quickly looked away from his friend's face and shrugged, "I...I was a mechanic. I mostly just made stuff for my siblings though."

"How many siblings do you have?" Hailey asked curiously.

"Eight," Lian whispered.

"Holy shit," Sammy started to laugh, "That's so many."

"Guys, he's the New God of the Sea," Shanniah reminded them with an annoyed sigh, "We knew he had eight siblings. He's in the stories."

"There are stories about me?" Lian asked.

Jexus nodded, "Of course. You're the New God of the Sea." He patted Lian's head a little roughly.

Lian squeaked quietly. He shook his head, "What kind of stories?"

"Well, personally, I expected you to be taller," Sammy stated bluntly.

Lian studied Sammy nervously, "Am I...disappointing?" He glanced at Jexus and then looked at the others.

"Of course not!" Hailey insisted.

"The stories said you had a sphinx in your room," Shanniah said, "But also the guy that wrote those stories is known to over exaggerate."

"Yeah, no. Sphinxes don't exist on my world," Lian scoffed. He paused, "But I do have a pet fox."

"Really?!" Sammy exclaimed.

"That's so exciting!" Hailey grinned.

Lian blinked at them in confusion, "It is?"

Zven nodded, "Foxes are really rare here."

Jexus chuckled, "Any time a fox is seen everyone loses their minds."

The group was on their way to the library. Lian had spent most of the walk marveling at the world around him. Everything was so beautiful, despite it being so dark. They had made due with what they had and what they could do. And they could do so much more than anyone back on his own world could.

Lian cocked his head to the side suddenly, "What's the relationship between technology and magic like?"

"What do you mean?" Hailey asked.

"Well...on my world people tend to believe they're mutually exclusive. You can't work on anything technological if you have magical ability and vice versa. You can't have magic if you work on anything technological."

"That's so backwards," Shanniah muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath.

"Oh boy," Zven shook his head.

Jexus smirked, "You just set off 'Instructor' Shanniah."

Lian glanced from him to Shanniah and back again anxiously.

"There are ten guilds here on Ravnica. Each guild has it's own purposes but the one I'm specifically talking about is the Izzet," Shanniah started. She continued to explain to Lian exactly what the Izzet did. "Basically, they combine magic and technology and hope the result isn't an explosion."

Lian was grinning from ear to ear by the time she was done, "That sounds like it would be _so much fun_. Wow!"

"If you want to stay, I'm sure you'd be able to join the Izzet," Sammy offered, "Dude, they'd probably welcome you with wide open arms, even."

"Really?" Lian's voice cracked. He cleared his throat and chewed his lower lip.

Hailey smiled, "Of course. Anyone can join a guild."

"Are you guys joining any guilds? What are the other guilds like?" Lian's eyes sparkled with excitement.

His friends laughed.

Jexus bowed a little bit to Shanniah, "Shanniah. This is your territory, Sister."

Lian glanced from him to Shanniah, "But I thought-"

"It's an expression," Zven explained.

"Oh." Lian nodded, "Okay. Nevermind."

Shanniah explained to him all of the guilds and all of their roles as they continued to the library.

The library was a humongous rectangular room. The far wall opposite the door was rounded and composed entirely of broad floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the ocean. Ten statues lined the walls on either side of the door, five on each wall. A banner with a unique symbol hung on the wall above each statue. In between each statue stood a marble pillar. Shelves filled to the brim with books took up the majority of the room. The space between the shelves and the window wall was filled with tables and cushioned chairs.

Lian stared around him, his mouth hanging open.

"Also, if you ever wanted to know more about the guilds, their leaders, the history of Ravnica, it's all here in this library," Hailey said.

"But right now, we're here for the story," Shanniah stated firmly.

"Yeah," Lian said distractedly. He looked around in awe. The library in the God's Palace was the largest on his world and it was maybe a tenth the size. He shook his head and looked at Shanniah, "How many stories are there?"

"Well, there's only one version of the Story of the Old Gods," Shanniah explained, "But the stories revolving around the New Gods are...numerous. And some may be embarrassing."

Lian stared at her in horror, "Embarrassing? How?!"

"The author of those stories is known for embellishing things and sometimes simply making things up," Hailey shrugged, "But everybody knows that, so those stories aren't really believed."

"In other words, don't worry about it," Jexus reassured him, "because nobody believes those stories anyway."

Lian relaxed slightly. He looked around, "Where's Sammy?"

"He went to go get the book while you guys were talking," Zven explained.

Lian instantly felt guilty for not noticing him leave sooner.

Sammy skipped up to the group, "There's a nice table in the back where we can all sit."

"Thanks Sammy," Hailey smiled.

Lian followed them to the back of the library. He didn't think he'd ever seen this many books. The shelves were twice as tall as Jexus and he was the biggest of them. And they were overfilled with books. He read some titles as they walked by. There were books on the history of Ravnica. There were books on the history of the multiverse. And books on different magical creatures, and animal species, and plant species, and sentient beings. There was probably a book on anything. Everything, just in this one room.

The group gathered at the table and Sammy set the book down. It wasn't very thick but it was very old.

Lian reached out and touched the book. The tips of his fingers tingled. He studied it for a minute, "Is it was wrapped in a long term protective enchantment?"

Hailey nodded, "Yeah."

Shanniah studied him, "How could you tell?"

Lian studied them for a moment, "Well...um. I've, uh, studied magic. I guess. I mean, that's not quite it, since I don't have magical ability of my own, but-well-it's the best explanation."

Hailey and Sammy exchanged glances and shrugged.

"I can read it to you if you like," Jexus offered.

At first Lian was offended. He could read just fine. Then he realized that Jexus gave no sign of having intended to insult him. He shrugged and lowered his gaze, "I-I guess. That would be...nice."

Jexus opened the book and cleared his throat.

"Long ago, in a time before the one we know, there was a group of powerful gods. The goddess of fire and independence, Chandra. The god of the sea and sky, Jace. The god of order and light, Gideon. The goddess of life and peace, Nissa. And the goddess of death and the afterlife, Liliana. And finally the god of the sun, Seth'ius. Flawed though they were, they did their best to do what was right. They worked together for the benefit of the worlds. They got along seemingly fine and acted quite like a happy family. Dysfunctional but loving all the same. But soon all of that would change

Seth'ius was uptight and stubborn, but not impossible to work with. Simply difficult. Gideon was spontaneous and easy going. He could be firm when he needed to be but was chill, and usually just as deep in trouble as the others, otherwise. Chandra was happy and bubbly but explosively angry. And she was tiny. The smallest but scariest of the group. Jace was sarcastic and loved to tease the others. He liked to act grumpy and like he didn't want any company but he really did enjoy having them around. Nissa was quiet but supportive and loving. She was always willing to listen to her friends, and be a shoulder when they needed a good cry. Liliana was trouble. She liked to act like she knew it all and was worth it all.

For you see, the Living Guildpact, the God of the sea and sky, had a distinct difficulty seeming genuine. His attachments ran deep but appeared fleeting and fickle. But he loved his little misfit family more than anything. He teamed up with one of his friends, Ral Zarek, the god of lightning, thunder, and creativity, to play a series of lighthearted pranks on the sun god. It was nothing more than a few random storms, flipping the locks on some doors, and hiding things in difficult to reach places.

Seth'ius became angry. Irrationally so, since the pranks were only mild inconveniences. He confronted Jace accusing him of being a traitor and corrupted. Naturally the others came to Jace's defense. From then on Seth'ius was convinced that Jace was corrupted and was trying to corrupt the others. He placed Chandra's life in danger, nearly killing her, and was kicked out of the group.

They thought the problem was solved. But they were wrong. Seth'ius eventually returned and he locked them away, one by one. Jace first. Then Chandra. Liliana. Gideon.

He left Nissa and instead attempted to kidnap the Oracle. However the Oracle's sister beat him to a stale mate in combat, thanks to her shape-shifting abilities and pure ferocity. The Oracle agreed to guide him, as long as he didn't harm her family. He agreed but banished her, her sister, and the rest of her family from the world where he had imprisoned the others.

Nissa created four dragons. The Seal Guardians. Lady Iris, the Living Guildpact's Seal Guardian, filled his place to the best of her ability. She now looks over Ravnica. Flare, Chandra's Seal Guardian created a lair within the mountain in which she was sealed. Shimmer, Gideon's Seal Guardian, wandered the worlds, providing aid, and standing up for those who could not stand up for themselves. He periodically checks in with Gideon's seal to ensure that his charge is safe. Altair, Liliana's Seal Guardian, serves her loyally. He also guards the entrance to the land of the dead, to ensure that only the dead enter.

The Oracle warned Seth'ius that to destroy the Guild Masters, Seal Guardians, or Nissa would lead to disaster. So instead he forced Ravnica's population to fear him. He ravaged the world, leaving it in ruins, killing millions, and offered no aid in rebuilding. He made Nissa his wife.

The children of the Goddess of Life took up the elements that had been lost and they also took up new elements. The first child became the new god of the sky. The second child became the goddess of knowledge. The third child became the new god of the sea. The fourth child became the god of the earth. The fifth child became the goddess of protection. The sixth child became the god of animals. The seventh child became the god of the moon. The eighth child became the god of magic. The ninth child became the new goddess of fire.

It was only a handful of months before the Oracle uttered a prophecy: "When the seas rage, the earth trembles, the mountain awakens, and the storm comes True Light will shine upon all the worlds and bathe them in it's warm glow."

Ultimately there is no choice but to wait. Wait, and pray that this can all be dealt with and the worlds can be freed."

Lian sat staring blankly at the table for a long moment when Jexus finished. "It's so different," he said finally. He lifted his head and cocked his head to the side, "Did F-Seth'ius really ravage this world? Just because...he could? Or because they were loyal to Jace?"

All of his new friends nodded.

"We're all orphans because of him," Sammy admitted quietly.

Lian's eyes widened.

"He only kills adults but that leaves a lot of kids without parents," Jexus explained. He was oddly calm about it.

Lian lightly touched the side of his neck. "I'm not even sure if I'm surprised," he whispered. He had scars all over his body, except on his face, from the many times he had gotten in trouble over the course of his life.

They all jumped when a loud boisterous voice called out, "There you kids are. You missed dinner. C'mon."

Hailey grinned and skipped up to the man leaning against one of the nearby bookshelves, "We made a new friend! And he's the New God of the Sea!"

Lian studied the man through narrowed eyes, instantly wary. He had electric blue eyes and white streaks in his spiky messy black hair. His clothes were mostly blue and red and he had a tattoo of a dragon on one of his arms.

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm assuming he's the unfamiliar face that's currently studying me like I carry a plague of some sort?" He grinned and walked up to him. He held out his hand, "Ral Zarek. How ya doin' Water Boy?"

Lian leaned away from him but took his hand, "L-Lian." He studied Ral for a moment longer, "You really do look like a prankster."

"Don't worry, Dude. He's nice," Sammy promised.

"Loud," Shanniah added disdainfully, "But he's fine."

Ral rolled his eyes, "Oh good god, Girlie. I'm not that loud."

Lian looked from Jexus to Ral and back again.

Jexus shrugged, "Just roll with it."

Lian looked back to Ral. He swallowed.

"So," Ral turned back to Lian, "Water Boy, you wanna join us for dinner? I gotta take these kids out. They missed it at the house."

Lian studied Ral's face. He had a broad warm grin and friendly eyes. He lowered his gaze and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Would it be alright?"

Ral nodded, "Of course!" He turned around and motioned for them to follow him, "Alright, Kids. We gotta make dinner quick or Arrester Vala is gonna eat _us_ for dinner."

"Arrester?" Lian repeated, fearfully.

"It's her job in the Azorius," Shanniah explained, "We're not in trouble. She just runs the mansion we live in."

Ral took them out to their favorite place for dinner. Lian was acutely aware of the way Ral seemed to study him throughout the meal. Ral didn't seem to really want to know anything particular though. He was just oddly interested.

After dinner Lian accompanied them to the mansion. The moment the group walked in a woman in heavy plate armor with dark brown almost black hair and grey-green eyes walked up to them. She nodded to Ral, "Thank you for finding them, Zarek."

Ral nodded, "Anytime."

She turned to the group of teens in front of her and crossed her arms over her chest, "I told you to call and let someone know when you got side tracked."

Jexus nodded, "Sorry Vala."

"But we made a new friend!" Sammy declared.

Vala laid eyes on Lian. He was watching her with guarded blue-grey eyes. His black hair still had flowers braided into it. Despite the braid it was an absolute mess and fell into his face. For a moment her eyes widened but then she shook her head a little bit, "Are you going to be staying with us as well?"

Lian shrugged, "I mean if you don't want me..." He lowered his head and picked at his fingers, "I can go."

Vala relaxed and gently lifted his chin, "That's not what I said, Kid. Are you staying with us?"

"It-It's up to me?" Lian asked. She was smiling warmly at him when he finally lifted his gaze to her face.

Vala nodded, "Yes."

"Then," Lian fell silent for a long while. It dawned on him that he'd never had a choice in anything really. Except getting in trouble. "I-I guess," he said finally, "I mean, I wouldn't mind staying here."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ral leaned against the wall next to Vala. Lian was set up, sharing a room with Jexus and Zven. Ral sighed, "I knew Orriyon said they'd resemble those they'd replaced but I didn't expect him to be so...similar."

Vala shook her head, "Me neither, Zarek. Me neither."

Ral straightened and studied the ground for a moment, "I was hoping, maybe he'd be more friendly and talkative. But it seems to me like he's broken. He's jumpy and guarded."

Vala put her hand on Ral's shoulder and smiled, "Trust his friends to help him. You helped the Guildpact. Let his friends do the same for him."

"Lian. It's breakfast time."

Lian blinked open his eyes to Zven and Jexus leaning over him. He turned bright red, squeaked, and pulled the blanket over his head, "Got it! I got it. I'm up." He took deep breaths to slow his heart rate down. After a few minutes he peeked out from under the blanket.

Jexus and Zven were waiting for him at the door.

Lian took one more deep breath before sitting up. He ran his hands through his hair, sweeping it back.

"Are those all the clothes you have?" Jexus asked suddenly.

Lian jumped, "No!" He shook his head, "Well, kinda. I mean...I only came here with this." He motioned to the clothes he was wearing.

"They'll probably be too big but you can borrow some of our clothes," Zven offered, "Jexus has a serious excess."

Lian stared at Zven. He shook his head quickly. "No. No. No. I'm good. Really." He covered his face in his hands and muttered under his breath, "What is wrong with me?"

Jexus punched his brother in the arm, "Leave him alone, Zven."

Zven returned it, "I was just being nice. That's all he's got." He turned back to Lian, "We gotta get to breakfast."

"Or Vala will come up and get us," Jexus added.

Zven groaned, "And then she goes into one hundred percent worried mom mode and it is pretty annoying."

"Worried mom mode?" Lian repeated curiously. He slid off the bed and walked over to the door.

Jexus nodded, "Basically she starts asking if your feeling okay, and she'll ask if you want to stay in bed, ask if you want more blankets, check you for a fever, list off symptoms of various illnesses that you gotta say yes or no to."

"Oh," Lian nodded, "My older sister does that sometimes."

Jexus and Zven exchanged glances.

Zven nodded, "I appreciate it really, but when there's nothing wrong and she still insists on going through a whole list of random stuff it gets a little old."

Lian giggled.

The two of them lead Lian downstairs for breakfast.

"I was about to check on your three," Vala said as she saw them. She was serving breakfast to a group of younger kids.

"Lian didn't want to get up," Zven explained.

Lian sulked, "It's not my fault. The beds here are way more comfortable than mine."

Jexus led them over to where the others were sitting. The table was close to the arched windows that took up most of that wall. The windows all opened up to a single balcony.

"Morning, Boys," Hailey smiled, "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine," Zven sat down next to her.

Lian sat down next to Shanniah and Jexus sat next to him.

Hailey looked expectantly at Lian and Jexus.

Lian shrugged, "Alright. I guess."

Jexus glanced at him before smiling at Hailey, "I slept well."

"That's good," Hailey nodded.

The room had a desaturated red carpet and walls that were covered in paintings. The paintings ranged from beautiful depictions of nature and stunning portraits to stick figures and sloppy hand prints. The tables were polished wood, but had also obviously gotten a good amount of attention. There were already toys, stuffed animals, and blankets scattered all over the floor.

Lian smiled, "Wow. Most of the stuff in the palace looks like it hasn't been touched since it was made."

"You live in a palace," Hailey gawked.

"Dude," Sammy stared at him.

Lian's cheeks turned red. He stared at the table and picked at his fingers, "Well...It's not that nice really. Not like this place." His eyes narrowed, "Everything in it is white, and has to be kept in pristine condition or Father will get angry. If a single speck of food is left on the table after a meal then all my siblings will be stuck cleaning the entire palace and I'll be locked in my room for at least a week."

"That's...extreme," Shanniah commented.

Lian shrugged, "It's how Father works."

Hailey sighed, "Well, you're here now. You're a part of our family."

Lian looked around, "Are you all orphans here?" There were at least twenty, probably closer to thirty kids in the room. Ral, Vala, and one other in bright gold, white, and red armor walked around the room, making sure everyone got a serving of breakfast. There were two other adults in the kitchen.

Hailey nodded, "But we're a family for each other. And the guild members make sure we're taking care of."

"Wow." Lian remained silent through breakfast. He preferred it here, and yet he knew that to do so was to betray the family back at the palace. His father would never forgive him for that. But it wasn't like he knew how to get home.

While they were eating their table was approached by Ral. "Hey, Kiddos. How's breakfast?"

"It's great," Sammy grinned.

Ral nodded, "Good. Good." He patted Lian's head, "Hey, Water Boy. I was wondering if I could borrow you for a few hours. There's a few things I wanna show ya."

Lian stiffened and glanced up at Ral worriedly. He shrugged, "I guess."

Ral grinned, "Go ahead and finish breakfast." He turned to walk away but turned back, "And don't worry. You're not in trouble."

After breakfast Ral lead Lian through the streets of Ravnica. It still appeared to be night time in the city.

Lian didn't look around. He kept his gaze lowered and his hands shoved in his pockets. He wasn't entirely sure what Ral wanted to talk to him about but he doubted it was anything good if Ral was taking him out of the mansion.

"Lighten up, Water Boy," Ral encouraged, "We're just heading over to my workshop. You're not in any trouble."

Lian glanced at Ral out of the corner of his eyes, "Workshop?"

Ral nodded excitedly, "Your friends told me you were a mechanic."

Lian shrugged, "I made stuff for my siblings."

Ral grinned, "What kind of stuff?"

Lian stiffened. He shrugged, "Just some gauntlets and stuff. Nothing special really."

Ral put his hand on Lian's shoulder, "Anything a mechanic makes is special, Lian."

The two of them continued to Ral's house and workshop silently. The house was a mess. There were random bits and bobs, and half finished projects strewn everywhere. Scorch marks and stains covered the walls and floor. The couch was covered in clothes that may or may not have been clean. The table had six old cups, a work in progress, and various supplies on it.

Lian looked around, "It's...a mess."

Ral shrugged, "Yep." He wandered into the kitchen, "You want a drink, Water Boy? I got orange juice. Really old milk that's probably poison by now. New milk. Coffee."

Lian giggled, "Poison milk?" He shook his head, "I don't really care."

Ral shrugged, "Coffee it is."

Lian hovered by the table. He looked over the contraption that sat on it. He cocked his head to the side, "You know? I think you're missing a connection for this thing."

"A connection?" Ral asked. He came out of the kitchen holding two cups of coffee. He handed one to Lian and sipped from the other one, "Where?"

Lian pointed it out.

Ral pouted, "Damn." He set the coffee down and started to fix it.

"What is it?" Lian asked.

"Hopefully," Ral put a screwdriver in his mouth but managed to successfully talk around it, "It'll be a new Android Heart."

"Android Heart?"

Ral nodded. He set the screwdriver down on the table, "Yeah. It's the thing that provides programming and energy source for the androids." He pointed across the table suddenly, "Give me the glowing cube thingy."

"Glowing cube thingy?" Lian looked over the junk on the table. He eventually spotted a softly glowing cube. The moment he came into contact with it his entire arm tingled. His eyes widened, "The androids have the ability to learn? I thought conversation points and behavioral responses had to be programmed in!"

Ral snorted, "Just how far behind is your world?"

Lian shrugged, "Generally speaking people believe that technology and magic are mutually exclusive." He handed the cube to Ral.

Ral's jaw fell open, "Are you joking? Why? Magic and technology are literal soulmates."

Lian gave Ral a confused look, "Soulmates?"

Ral sighed, "They belong together. Compliment each other. Are perfect together. It's usually used in terms of people in relationships but it works in a lot of other situations as well." He slid the cube into a perfectly fitted slot in the "heart".

After a moment the entire thing lit up. Veins along the outside of the device started to glow as energy flowed through them.

"How long will the cube last?" Lian asked.

"A few hundred years," Ral estimated. He shrugged, "By that time I'll have come up with a newer more advanced design anyway." He pulled the cube out and set it down next to the heart. He turned to Lian, "So what kind of stuff have you made?"

Lian looked away from Ral and scratched at his fingers. After a long silence he sighed, "Well, I made daggers for one of my brothers. They can absorb the moonlight and then it makes them burn stuff they come into contact with. They're covered in a sleeve that they can't burn through but that dissolves when it comes into contact with most bodily fluids."

Ral raised his eyebrows, "That's...dark."

Lian shrugged, "Aria is basically Father's assassin on call. It fits what he does." He continued, "I also made gauntlets for my youngest sister. She's the New Goddess of Fire so I made something for her that allows her to more easily channel her flames into tangible shapes, like weapons. The gauntlets basically provide a sort of shell that the flames can't get out of. She really likes scythes which is both weird and terrifying. But it's not really a shell because the fire can still burn you and if she hits something flammable then it's going to catch." He got more excited and expressive as he continued to talk, "And I made a visor for my youngest brother. Because part of his ability set is being able to tell what other people's abilities are, how powerful they are, things like that. The visor allows that information to be stored. And after he got hit in the face pretty bad in training I added on an ability that allows him to see things in slow motion basically so that he can get out of the way easier next time."

Ral studied Lian worriedly but cleared his face before Lian looked at him. He nodded, "That's all pretty damn impressive, Water Boy."

All the excitement disappeared and Lian studied Ral curiously, "Why do you call me that?"

Ral shrugged, "It's a thing I do with everybody. Everybody's got a nickname."

"What's the Guildpact's?" Lian asked.

"Guildpact," Ral shrugged, "I mean he already has a title."

"What about my mother?" Lian asked.

"Oh, Nis?" Ral nodded, "I just call her Nis."

Lian sighed, "Fine."

Ral leaned back and studied Lian for a moment. "Anything else you've made?"

The guarded, wary look returned to Lian's gaze instantly. He stiffened and clasped his hands in front of him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He lowered his head. "I had other ideas but my notebook was destroyed," he mumbled.

"Damn," Ral shook his head sympathetically, "That really sucks."

Lian shrugged, "I was being inconsiderate and selfish."

Ral stared at him. He cocked his head to the side, "For...having a notebook full of ideas?"

Lian shrugged again, "Basically. It's complicated."

"Well then." Ral decided to change the subject, "Want to help me work on a body to put this heart into, Water Boy?"

"Really?" Lian asked. He watched Ral uncertainly.

Ral nodded, "I'd love to have your help."

Lian grinned, "Okay!"

"Oh yeah," Ral held up his finger and returned to the kitchen. He came back a moment later with a phone-like device, "This is for you."

Lian turned it over in his hands curiously, "What is it?"

"It's a..." Ral shook his head, "Just play with it, Water Boy. You'll figure out how it works."

"Ooookay?" Lian shrugged and slid it into his pocket.

Lian spent the next few days in Ral's workshop with him. They worked, had their hard work blow up in their faces, laughed until they cried. They generally just had fun.

It didn't take Lian long to figure the phone out at all. He had it down in a matter of hours.

Jexus and Zven learned to sleep with a light on in the room because Lian refused to go to sleep if he was in the middle of something. It got to the point where Vala had to tell him to go to bed three times every night before he would turn the light off and climb into bed. But even then he was on the phone mapping out his ideas, and making sure his supplies list was up to date.

"Dude, you look like you crawled back from the other side of the grave," Sammy commented when Lian came down for breakfast.

Lian rubbed his face with his hand and yawned, "Really?"

Jexus sighed, "He hasn't slept in three and a half days."

"At all?" Hailey asked.

"I slept a little bit like yesterday," Lian shrugged. He paused, "Or...maybe the day before."

"What are you working on that's had you up for so long?" Shanniah asked.

Lian smiled brightly, "A spell breaker."

"Spell breaker?" Sammy repeated, "Like a device that...breaks enchantments?"

Lian nodded, "Basically yeah."

"Good morning, you guys," Vala served up breakfast.

"Good morning!" They all said in unison.

Vala sighed, "Lian, kid, have you slept at all?"

Lian nodded, "Yeah! I slept a little bit...sometime." He shrugged, "It was yesterday or the day before."

"How long is a little bit?" Vala asked.

Lian counted on his fingers, "Two…and...a half hours? Fifteen minutes maybe?"

Vala pinched the bridge of her nose, "Two and a half hours in three and a half days?"

Lian smiled sheepishly, "Something like that."

Vala sighed, "That's not healthy you know."

"I know," Lian nodded.

Vala patted his shoulder as she walked by, "Be sure to get some rest today."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

They ate in silence for a couple seconds.

"So...how exactly does Spell Breaker work?" Jexus asked.

Lian glanced at him, "Well...It analyzes the spell, finds it's weak points, and then destroys it from there."

"Weak points?" Shanniah asked, "What do you mean by weak points?"

Lian blinked at her, "Uh..." He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully. He pulled a notebook out of one of the pockets in his pants and set it down open to a blank page on the table. "You see, every spell has symbols that are used to cast it. Usually mages subconsciously draw these symbols within their minds while casting a spell."

"Uh-huh," Shanniah nodded.

Lian drew out a circular symbol on the paper. He then drew a smaller circle in the center of the circle and four equally spaced lines to connect the circles. He then drew two short lines extending outward from the bottom of the circle. The lines he drew on the paper glowed. A wave of silvery magical energy flowed over the paper. It disappeared a moment later. "Like a basic protective enchantment." He grinned as he continued, "The symbol is basically a path that's laid out for the magical energy to follow." He picked up the paper and attempted to rip it. The silvery magical energy reappeared where the paper would've torn. He traced over the lines he had drawn again, "But, there's no magical energy where the symbol isn't written. That's the weak points." He drew dots into the various empty spaces between the lines, "Every single counter, whether it's another spell or a device, finds those weak points, the empty spaces, and destroys the spell from there."

"Wow," Hailey whispered.

"That's awesome!" Zven exclaimed.

"A really cool thing though," Lian drew out the symbol for an equally basic counter spell, "The counter spell's symbol is actually fluid and is basically the inverse of the symbol of whatever spell the caster is trying to counter." The counter's symbol glowed deep blue and the silvery energy retracted into it. The glow of both symbols faded. He showed his friends the second symbol he had drawn, "So this symbol would be the one used to counter or destroy the protective enchantment but only the protective enchantment."

"How do you know all this?" Shanniah asked curiously, "I've read every tome on magic in the library and they never detailed any of this."

Lian scanned his friends faces uncomfortably. After a moment he shrugged, "It's a weird and kinda long story."

Shanniah accepted his answer without question, "Well." She looked around at her friends, "Shall we get on with today's adventure then?"


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lian sat on the couch, reading a book on the history of Ravnica. The younger kids had been sent to bed but the older ones didn't have to go to bed for another couple of hours. His friends were in the kitchen looking for a snack. He had decided to stay out of that whole mess in case they got in trouble. He could hear Shanniah and Zven bickering in hushed voices about whether the snack needed to be healthy or not.

Hailey plopped down next to him cross-legged, "Shanniah and Zven really need to figure themselves out."

Lian looked at her in confusion, "What?"

Hailey sighed, "They're dating but only kinda. They argue like nobody's business."

Lian was lost but he returned to his book, "Okay then."

Hailey sighed again, "They are dating, it's just nobody believes it because they do nothing but argue."

Lian nodded distractedly.

Hailey watched him in silence for a couple minutes.

They could still hear Zven and Shanniah arguing. Though it didn't even sound like they were fighting about the snacks anymore. Lian listened in for a second.

"No, Zven! You moron! That doesn't go there!"

"Where does it go?" Zven snapped.

Lian looked at Hailey, "They aren't even arguing about the snacks anymore."

Hailey nodded, "The snacks are in the back of the fridge and cabinet. In order to reach them we gotta move stuff."

"Why do you do this if you can get in trouble?" Lian asked.

"Oh no, we won't really get in trouble. Vala will just remind us we're not supposed to have snacks before bed," Hailey assured him.

"But..." Lian glanced towards the kitchen, "I'm confused. That's not being in trouble?"

Hailey shook her head, "Nope." She started nodding, "Trust me, you'll know if Vala is actually mad. I've only ever seen it happen once. She wasn't mad with any of us though. And she's really good about not changing how she treats us or talks to us even when she's angry or upset."

"Really?" He sulked, "My father gets angry with me for everything."

"Like everything everything?" Hailey asked in concern.

Lian shrugged, "Pretty much yeah. But it's not really that bad."

Hailey studied him uncertainly but changed the subject, "I've noticed you seem to be taking a liking to Jexus."

Lian stiffened and his face went red, "I-What-No."

Hailey laughed, "Relax. He's bi you know."

"Bi?"

Hailey nodded, "Yeah. It means he likes boys and girls."

"Really?!" Lian squeaked. His face got redder and he hastily turned back to his book.

Hailey smiled, "You're adorable." She poked his nose.

Lian's face scrunched up and he pulled away from her, "Ah! Hey!"

Hailey motioned to where their friends were walking up, "Go talk to him. Say hi. Ask how he's doing."

Lian shook his head, "No. No. No."

Hailey sighed, "If you insist."

"What're you guys talkin' about?" Jexus asked. He leaned against the armrest next to Lian.

Lian hid his face behind the book and silently prayed that Hailey wouldn't tell him.

"Nothing much. Just talking about you guys," Hailey shrugged.

"Really Hail?" Shanniah sighed in resignation, "We've talked about this."

"What?" Hailey played innocent, "I didn't do anything!"

The boys all looked at each other in confusion.

Shanniah put her hands on her hips and fixed her friend with a stern glare, "You and I both know what you did."

"What did she do, Sister?" Jexus asked.

Hailey pouted. She stuck out her tongue, "I didn't do anything."

"So..." Sammy interrupted awkwardly, "Snacks?"

Zven and Sammy handed out the snacks to everyone. Sammy went upstairs to his room while the others gathered on the couch. Jexus sat down next to Lian. Hailey shifted so there was room between her and the other armrest. Shanniah sat on the armrest next to Hailey and Zven sat on the floor between Lian and Jexus. Sammy came back down with a book full of discs. He sat between Hailey and Shanniah on the couch.

Sammy opened up the book, "What do we wanna watch tonight?"

"We should watch The Sphinx and the Fire," Hailey suggested without hesitating.

"We watched that one last time, Hail," Zven reminded her.

Hailey sighed, "Fine. Somebody else can choose."

"I'm confused," Lian interrupted.

"We're gonna watch a movie," Sammy explained. He held up the book of discs, "My entire movie collection is here."

Lian nodded slowly, "Ooookay."

"They're pretty difficult to explain actually," Shanniah commented.

"Since Lian hasn't seen it yet, we can watch The Sphinx and the Fire," Hailey insisted.

"Uh. No," Zven shook his head, "We watched that one last time."

"Maybe we should let Lian choose," Jexus suggested.

"What's The Sphinx and the Fire?" Lian asked.

"It's a love story," Sammy explained.

"A sphinx gets transformed into a human because of a curse and falls in love with a pyromancer," Hailey explained, "It is the single greatest love story of all time."

"Okay," Lian looked at the book of discs uncertainly, "What else is there?"

"Well, Sammy is the only one that has seen all of these movies," Shanniah explained, "But my favorite so far is Mechanical Angel. It's a fictionalization of Arrester Lavinia's death and subsequent transformation into the first fully functional android that was capable of learning and developing on her own."

"And the first successful transfer of a human consciousness into a mechanical body," Sammy added.

Lian cocked his head to the side, "That one sounds interesting."

"My favorite is Calypso," Zven said, "It is probably the best movie ever made."

Hailey looked at Lian and shook her head.

Lian giggled.

Hailey winked.

"What's it about?" Lian asked.

"This elf goes on a quest to save her family," Zven explained, "and along the way she has to fight monsters and she makes new friends. It's a really great movie."

"It's boring," Hailey insisted.

"You only think that because it doesn't have a love story in it," Zven responded.

"Stop it," Shanniah threw the crumbs of her muffin at the two of them.

Hailey squeaked.

Zven threw a small chunk of his doughnut back at her.

Shanniah caught it with one hand, "Thank you." She ate it.

Zven stared at her with his mouth hanging open. "You are so mean," he whined.

Lian looked at Hailey, "Are they really dating?"

Hailey nodded, "Yeah."

"Jexus, Sammy. What are your guys' favorite movies?" Shanniah asked.

Jexus shrugged, "I like all the ones we've seen so far. I don't really care what we watch."

Hailey reached around Lian to poke Jexus in his arm, "You, Sir, are not helpful."

Jexus smirked and shrugged, "I know."

All of them looked to Sammy. Sammy shrugged, "Well...my favorite isn't one you guys have seen yet. But it's really out of order. It's like closer to the back..."

"So you don't want to watch it yet?" Shanniah concluded.

Sammy nodded.

Lian thought for a moment, "Maybe...we could watch Mechanical Angel?"

"Sure, Dude," Sammy set up the movie.

" _It's your life, or all of theirs. Make your choice, Arrester."_

" _Get it over with."_

 _Lavinia was grabbed by her hair and lifted to her feet. She grimaced but kept silent. She noticed Ral moving through the crowd toward her, his intentions clear on his face. Their eyes met and she subtly shook her head. Her expression was a stern singular "No."_

 _Ral stopped. He looked torn now. After a moment he disappeared back into the crowd._

 _Lavinia relaxed a little. This time, just this once, he actually listened to her. And for that, she was relieved._

 _Ral snuck through some side alleys and around behind the stage Lavinia stood on. He quickly attached a small pancake shaped device onto her foot. He then disappeared back into the alleys. He hovered just around a corner and activated a separate box shaped device. Most of the device was a screen. There were two buttons on the bottom of it._

 _Lavinia's jaw tightened as an odd pins and needles sensation spread through her whole body. She sighed. Maybe he hadn't listened and had just decided to go about his plans differently._

 _Ral watched as a bar filled green at the top of the screen. He tapped at the back of the device with his fingers anxiously. The bar was almost full. Only a couple more seconds-_

 _In a bright flash of light Lavinia's body disintegrated. What was left was a pile of washed out white ash._

 _Ral's jaw tightened. The process was incomplete. He'd only needed a few more seconds. He disappeared into the alleys and made his way to his workshop. He had to find out what was lost._

Lian swallowed uncomfortably as the camera panned up to show a frighteningly accurate recreation of his father, standing next to the ash that had been Lavinia's body. But he didn't say anything. He was the one that had decided on the movie. He would sit through all of it without complaint.

The movie backtracked to show the events that had led up to Lavinia's death.

 _Lavinia stood calmly next to Iris. The two of them were looking over plans, proposed by the Izzet for a magically powered temporary replacement for the sun that had refused to rise. Ravnica had been trapped in eternal night for five years thus far._

 _Lady Iris gave her approval for the project. The Izzet began immediately. Ral admitted to Lavinia that the Izzet had been developing the idea without approval for the past five years. Since the sun didn't rise._

Lian kind of wanted to skip to the part where her android body is being made. The beginning so far was boring him. It was cool that the Izzet were building a mechanical sun but the movie wasn't showing him how they were doing it. It was mentioned and then the movie continued to focus on Lavinia. "Not that she's not interesting. It's just boring," he muttered under his breath. He returned to his book, glancing up at the movie occasionally to make sure he didn't miss the part he wanted to see.

Lian paused, "Wait."

"Hm?" Sammy paused the movie.

Lian glanced out the window, "I thought they were working on a mechanical sun? But there's a fragmented moon outside."

Shanniah nodded, "Yeah. The movie covers that. Don't worry."

Lian pouted a little bit, "Oh. Okay." He returned to his book while his friends continued to watch the movie. He picked absentmindedly at a muffin as well.

About halfway through the movie Jexus nudged Lian, "This is the part."

Lian looked up and watched as Lavinia turned to ash again. The Seth'ius in the movie then destroyed most of what progress they had made on the mechanical sun. It plummeted to the ground in dangerously large chunks. Thankfully the movie showed all the destruction from a distance.

Lian watched the rest of the movie from there. It showed the Izzet working to rebuild the mechanical sun. They never did manage to get it back to where it had been but did create the moon that hung in the sky today. And Ral also worked on his own to create a body for Lavinia. He couldn't restore the small portion of memories she had lost but still helped her to the best of his ability.

Lian cocked his head to the side, "Has Ral always worked by himself?"

Hailey shrugged, "We don't know. He is a member of the Izzet guild but we don't really know what he does when he's not hanging out here with us."

"Oh," Lian said. He yawned.

"We still got about half an hour," Shanniah said, "before we have to go to bed." The clock near the kitchen said it was eleven thirty at night.

"What do we wanna do?" Hailey asked.

Lian was already nodding off but he didn't want to spoil his friends' fun. He fell fully asleep a couple of minutes later though.

Hailey noticed first and gently shoved Lian towards Jexus so that he was leaning up against him.

"Is he asleep?" Jexus asked.

Hailey played innocent, "It looks like it."

"Hailey!" Shanniah whisper yelled.

"What?" Hailey gave Shanniah puppy eyes.

Shanniah shook her head.

"I'll go ask Vala if we can stay up until he wakes up," Sammy slipped silently away.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The moment Lian woke up he could tells he was leaning against someone. But he also didn't particularly feel like moving. So he didn't. He didn't open his eyes for another twenty minutes.

When he finally did he choked. He sat up quickly and scrambled away from Jexus, "Sorry! I didn't mean to-AH!" He let out an undignified shriek as he fell off the couch.

"Lian!" Jexus jerked forward. He helped his friend to his feet.

Lian took a couple steps back once he was up, "Sorry."

Hailey ducked into the kitchen and laughed until she cried. She rested her head on Shanniah's shoulder, "He fell off the couch."

Shanniah sighed, "How many times do I have to tell you that just because you can see the red ribbons doesn't mean you need to push people into it before they're ready?"

Hailey laughed harder, "But it's so cute!"

"Dude, are you alright?" Sammy asked Lian.

"I'm fine," Lian insisted. He was tomato red but his head was lowered so his hair hid the majority of his face. "I'm gonna...go upstairs, I think," he mumbled.

"See you tomorrow then?" Jexus asked.

Lian nodded, "Yeah." He disappeared up the stairs.

"We should probably go to bed as well," Shanniah said. She glanced at the clock, "It's two in the morning."

The next morning Lian sat down excitedly at his friends' table, "Guys! I was thinking last night." He paused, waiting for them to acknowledge him.

"Yeah?" Zven asked. The others turned their attention to him as well.

"Well, Ral mentioned that he had created a pair of rocket boots that allow people to jump really high or really far or whatever," Lian continued. He bounced excitedly, "But I was thinking, rocket boots? That can get dangerous pretty quick. And Ral mentioned they had a habit of exploding after long term use."

"Uh-huh," Jexus nodded.

"So I was thinking, what if we used a levitation enchantment and pressurized air? The bottom of the boots release a high amount of air at high power," He pulled out his phone and showed them some of his basic design ideas, "And that is what gets you off the ground. Then the levitation enchantment takes over and then you can leap around to your heart's content and there's no danger of you blowing up unexpectedly."

"Whoa," Sammy breathed, "Dude, that's a sleek design."

"The rocket boots at the moment are actually pretty clunky and difficult to walk in," Jexus added, "But those look like they'd be effective as normal boots."

"Really? I've never actually seen a pair in person," Lian admitted.

"I'm sure the Boros wouldn't mind if we paid a visit," Shanniah offered.

"Really?!" Lian's eyes glowed happily.

"Of course," Hailey nodded, "Jexus and Zven hang out with them a lot."

The group scarfed down the rest of breakfast. Lian jogged up to Vala, "We're gonna see if the Boros would let us see the rocket boots."

Vala stared at him for a moment. She sighed and shook her head, "Alright. Be safe, Kids. I don't want any of you all exploding, got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the responded simultaneously.

Zven smirked a little bit as they walked out the door, "You can tell Vala is Azorius."

Lian cocked his head to the side, "How?"

"The Azorius are a bit more cautious than the Boros," Shanniah answered.

Lian chuckled, "Oh."

"A bit?" Sammy repeated, "If you ask me, the Boros are crazy compared to the Azorius. They go running in without thinking about what could happen."

"Well, actually," Zven corrected, "The Boros do plan. They're strategic. They're a legion. It comes with the territory."

"Either way," Shanniah interrupted quickly.

Lian laughed.

"The Boros and Azorius especially," Shanniah continued, "are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for anyone."

Lian sighs, "That's really cool. I wish I could be like that."

"It's a momentary thing," Jexus assured him, "It's not something you ever think about. It's just something that happens in a moment of crisis. Nobody thinks they can be that kind of person, no matter how much they might want to, until a situation forces them to make that choice."

Lian studied him curiously but decided it'd probably be best not to ask for any details. He paused, "Why are the rocket boots with the Boros if the Izzet designed them?"

"Because the Boros are crazy enough to use them," Shanniah answered bluntly.

"C'mon, Sister, the Izzet use them too," Jexus shoved her playfully.

"And the Izzet are crazy too," Shanniah shoved him back.

Lian laughed, "Oh. Okay."

"We can probably cap off today by stopping by the fountain and leaving some flowers for the Guildpact," Hailey suggested out of nowhere.

"We'll have to buy some," Shanniah nodded.

"But there's no reason we can't," Jexus finished.

The six of them arrived in the Boros Guildhall halfway through the day. It took some convincing but eventually they were led into an armory where the boots were stored. Lian immediately offered to get into them himself. He wasn't much fazed by the possibility of blowing up. And he wanted to know exactly what a newer design would need to change. He could tell the moment he picked them up, before he even put them on, that they had an uncomfortable amount of weight on the bottom, "God, that's annoying." He also couldn't get them on himself. He needed Zven and Shanniah's help to get them securely fastened.

Walking in them was a nightmare. He had to carefully plot out each step. And he made a nearly unbearable amount of noise with each step. On the plus side though the boots were able to accurately read the power he wanted in a jump and respond accordingly. When he hopped then they only shot him up a little bit. When he leaped they launched him into the sky.

Lian screamed on his way down. He manage to right himself and took the landing into a messy, somewhat painful roll. It took him three attempts to get to his feet. When he finally managed to do it, it was awkward and difficult.

He kicked at the air and stumbled backwards, "How do they fight in these things?"

"Extensive training," Zven answered.

"Just for a pair of boots?" Lian asked.

Zven nodded, "Yeah."

Lian paused, "Wait...how extensive is extensive training?"

"Years," Shanniah said.

"Just years?" Lian asked. His eyes widened, "Oh." Then he shook his head, "Oh. Never mind. Never mind. I...forgot."

They all nodded solemnly, remembering that Lian would inevitably outlive all of them, being a god and all.

Lian cleared his throat, "Um...can I get some help getting out of these please?"

"Yeah," Shanniah walked up to him. Zven helped her get him out of the boots.

The group put them back where they found them and then left the guildhall. They thanked the guard that let them in nicely on their way out.

"Now I know what I need to do to get my boots right!" Lian declared excitedly.

"Just from that?" Hailey asked.

Lian nodded, "I already knew how I was going to design the boots. But by using those as reference then I know what things to avoid doing and I know what things I should add in."

His friends nodded.

"We can help you out if you need it," Jexus offered.

"Actually-" Lian stopped. He was going to say no. After all his friends didn't really know what went into making something like this. But he clearly remembered every single time he wished someone would let him help them just so he could have company. He smiled, "Sure! I wouldn't mind if you guys helped at all!"

"Alright!" Hailey grinned.

"It's your project, Dude," Sammy motioned to Lian, "so lead on."

"What do you need us to do?" Shanniah asked calmly.

Lian blinked in surprise. He stared at them uncertainly, "I...don't-I don't know actually."

"Here's a better question," Jexus said, "Where are we headed first?"

Lian thought for a moment, "Ral's house." He checked his phone, "I need a few things before we can really start."

They followed Lian to Ral's place. They found him doing some normal maintenance on Lavinia's android body.

"Lavinia!" Hailey grinned. She flopped down next to her, "Hey!"

Lavinia nodded to her calmly, "Hello, Hailey." She looked at all of the kids present, "You all are staying out of trouble, yes?"

Shanniah nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

Lian watched Lavinia from where he stood just behind Jexus warily. He recognized her from the movie they'd watched. The movie did a good job of recreating her. Though her eyes were more teal in real life, as opposed to the blue they had been in the movie. It crossed his mind that her eyes looked like Storm's.

"This is Lian," Zven stepped a side so that Lavinia could see him.

Lian's jaw tightened.

She studied him silently. "Welcome to Ravnica, Lian," she nodded to him. Either she was highly disciplined and able to keep her emotions under wraps or she didn't feel them at all. Lian couldn't tell.

He nodded tensely back to her but didn't say anything.

The other kids talked to Lavinia and Ral while Ral continued working.

Lian stood off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other anxiously. He was detached from the conversation, like it wasn't his to be a part of. Because he had only seen one specific section of the city, he didn't know what they were talking about. Even after Lavinia left he waited quietly for them to remember he was there.

"So," Ral put the tools he was using away, "is there any particular reason you all are here? Or are you just saying hi?"

"We're saying hi," Hailey said, "And we're here because we're helping Lian with his boots."

Ral looked them over in confusion, "What?"

"We're helping Lian with a design he had made for boots that could replace the rocket boots," Jexus explained.

"Oh." Ral looked around. When he saw Lian in the corner he cocked his head to the side, "What are you doing all the way over there, Water Boy? C'mere." He motioned for Lian to come closer.

Lian picked his way through the mess that littered Ral's floor and stopped next to them.

"What do ya got?" Ral asked.

Lian showed him everything he'd come up with regarding the idea, "I think I came up with a new way for the rocket boots to work."

Ral looked it over, obviously impressed. He sulked a little bit, "Wow. Why didn't we think of that sooner?" He got to his feet and patted Lian's head, "You're a miracle, Water Boy." He disappeared into the back of the house and came back a moment later with a barely organized bin of various supplies.

The group gathered up the supplies Lian needed and then took them back to the mansion. They left the supplies in Lian, Jexus, and Zven's room and left again to leave flowers in the ocean.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Lian woke up abruptly with no explanation. He sat up slowly and looked around. The room was dark. His friends' snoring was the only thing he could hear. For the first time in weeks he felt a pit in his stomach. He was anxious, afraid- No, _terrified_. He snuck down stairs to get a look at the clock. It was three in the morning. In four more hours there would be breakfast. And then he would wander Ravnica with his friends the way he always had until lunch. And then they'd finish up the boots and run the final test after lunch. Chill in the room until dinner. And then after that they'd watch a movie and go to bed. And the next day they'd start a new project and the cycle would repeat itself.

He just had to make it to breakfast. Because there were enough distractions in the day that he'd be able to make it through until the feeling left. He made his way silently back up to the room and sat down on his bed. He didn't even attempt to fall back to sleep.

He turned on the single lamp, moved to the closet and pulled out the bin of supplies he stored in the closet out into the middle of the room. He sat cross-legged on the floor and dumped the bin out. He went through and organized all of his supplies in a grid. He counted each and every little bit. Once the entire catalog on his phone had been updated he pulled Spell Breaker out of his pocket. It was about the size of his phone. But it occurred to him that he could probably make it smaller. Small enough he could close his whole hand over it. Then he'd be able to use it without anyone knowing what he had done.

He took it apart. It's design was simple. It was the symbols etched into a small indentation on either side of the device that gave it it's power. A complicated and powerful generalized counter spell. He added a collection of symbols he had developed on his own that allowed it to weaken what it couldn't counter.

"At that point I would be able to take whatever happened to come my way," Lian mumbled to himself, "Because it wouldn't be strong enough to annihilate whatever came into it's path anymore."

Lian let the project he had assigned himself consume every thought and action. He pretended the pit in his stomach didn't exist. After living with it for four hundred and eighty three thousand years he was more than able to ignore it. It was easy as long as he had something to do.

"Lian?"

Lian jumped and whipped his head around. He held his breath without realizing it and his chest was tight. Every muscle in his body was tense, ready for action at any moment. He relaxed a little bit when he realized it was just Jexus, groggily standing behind him.

Lian forced a bright smile onto his face, "Hey."

"You aren't usually up this early," Jexus yawned. He patted his cheeks gently in an attempt to wake himself up.

Lian shrugged, "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep." He cocked his head to the side, "Are you usually up this early? There's still some time before breakfast."

Jexus nodded, "I usually get up early to get Zven up. And then we get you up, which can take anywhere from five seconds to twenty five minutes."

Lian laughed nervously, "Sorry."

Jexus shook his head, "You're fine. Sammy is, to date, the most difficult person to get up in this mansion. He will not get up until he wants to, no matter how hard anybody tries to get him up before then." He smirked a little bit, "It's quite the amusing sight to behold."

Lian chuckled. He held up the mostly completed new design for Spell Breaker, "Look. It's smaller now." He closed his hand over it, "It can fit into the palm of my hand. Now I can use it without anyone seeing it."

Jexus nodded, "And...other people not seeing it is important?"

Lian nodded, "It is. It's better to keep things like this a secret. That way it's an advantage against anyone who would hurt you."

Jexus studied Lian worriedly, not for the first time, but nodded slowly, "Makes sense." After a moment he made his way to the door, "Wanna check the time with me? It shouldn't be too long before breakfast."

Lian glanced from him to Spell Breaker and back again. He chewed his lower lip but nodded, "Sure." He followed Jexus down the stairs.

Shanniah was already up, helping the adults make breakfast, but everyone else was still in bed.

"Lian. You're not usually up this early," Shanniah commented in surprise.

Lian shrugged, "Woke up. Couldn't get back to sleep." He watched his feet as he tapped at the ground with his left toe. He picked nervously at his fingers.

Shanniah nodded. She shot a concerned glance towards Jexus.

He just shrugged.

Shanniah sighed, "Well, breakfast will be ready in a bit. I gotta get Hailey up."

"I'll get Zven," Jexus nodded.

Lian followed Jexus back up the stairs. He sat down back in front of his supplies and continued to work on Spell Breaker. He was almost done. And now that it was small enough to close his whole hand over he'd be able to use it any time. Anywhere. No one would know. Not even his father.

He stopped abruptly. He stared at the supplies in front of him, his gaze blank and empty. Slowly he got to his feet and took a couple steps backwards. Last time he'd done this it had all been destroyed. He'd done everything to hide it away and it hadn't worked.

"Lian," Jexus said worriedly. He was leaning over Zven's bed, shaking his brother awake.

Lian jumped and turned around sharply. He relaxed a moment later, "Yeah?" He clasped his hands behind his back.

Jexus straightened and walked closer to Lian, "Are you alright?"

Lian nodded, "Yeah! I'm fine. Just..." He glanced back at his supplies, "Frustrated." He turned back to Jexus, but kept his hands clasped behind his back, "I'm almost done. And it's-it's not working out."

Jexus didn't look like he believed him.

Lian forced himself to brighten up, "I'll figure it out over breakfast. Don't worry!"

Jexus studied him for an uncomfortably long time before nodding, "Ask for help if you need it, okay? We're your friends. It's what we're here for."

Lian nodded, "Yep." He sat on his bed and waited for Zven to get up silently. His mind raced. Spell Breaker was almost done. Almost small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. But when his father found it, all his hard work would be lost. Forever. He'd never get Spell Breaker back. "Unless," Lian muttered, "Spell Breaker stayed here."

"What?" Jexus asked.

Lian jumped. He shook his head, "Nothing. Nothing. I'm talking to myself. Sorry."

Jexus nodded.

A couple minutes later Zven finally got up and the three of them went downstairs. They were the first three at the table, instead of the usual last three. Lian tapped his feet on the ground in no particular rhythm while they waited for the others.

The group was oddly quiet at breakfast.

"Before we begin today's adventure, I gotta talk to Vala about something," Shanniah said. She walked backwards for a bit, "I'll be right back." She turned around and jogged into the kitchen.

Lian cocked his head to the side, "What does she need to talk to Vala about?"

Hailey shrugged, "No idea."

"It's probably not that important, Dude," Sammy said, "Shanniah would've told us what she was talking about if it was."

Lian nodded, "Okay."

"Vala," Shanniah said nervously.

"What's up, Kid?" Vala asked. She noticed the worry on Shanniah's face and was instantly serious, "What's going on?"

"Well," Shanniah took a deep breath, "It's Lian. He said he woke up and couldn't get back to sleep last night. Jexus said that he was talking to himself again, which he hasn't done since his first week here."

Vala nodded, "And you're worried."

Shanniah nodded, "I am." She sighed, "I realize it could just be nothing but..."

Vala patted her head gently, "Don't worry. Better to notice and have it be nothing than not notice and have it turn out to be everything."

Shanniah nodded, "Yes, Ma'am."

Vala shooed her away, "Off you go. You have an adventure to get on with. I'll talk to Lian when you guys get back."

Shanniah nodded again. She jogged back to her friends.

Lian was the first to notice Shanniah coming back.

She noticed that his eyes were wary again. Not when he looked at any of them specifically, but when he looked around, he appeared to scan for something. And it didn't seem like he missed a single detail. Now she was convinced that something was wrong. But he obviously didn't want to talk about it. So she wouldn't press.

Lian followed his friends silently around Ravnica. He had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his hoodie. He scanned every single face around them, making sure he didn't recognize them. And more importantly that they didn't recognize him. He was on edge and he still didn't know why. He didn't like feeling like this and it upset him that for his entire life up until the past twelve weeks or so this feeling had been normal. So normal that he hadn't even noticed how uncomfortable it was before now.

"Lian."

Lian jumped and lifted his head. He hadn't even realized he'd been looking at the ground. He'd been too lost in his own head. "Y-Yeah?"

Hailey put her hand on his shoulder and studied him. She was very worried. It was written all over every part of her face. Every move she made. It was in the way her eyes scanned his face.

Lian looked away from her, to the ground, "Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," Hailey insisted, "I'm just worried. Are you alright?"

Lian nodded, "I'm fine. I'm just...tired. I guess."

None of his friends believed him. They were all worried. But he didn't look at any of them. He glanced around instead. He studied the faces of the people around them. His friends didn't seem bothered by the crowd. He usually wasn't either. Today it felt like he was being crushed by it.

Lian stiffened suddenly. His gaze became fixed on a single point in the crowd around them.

Jexus tried to follow his gaze but didn't see anything. Just a sea of people. They all went about their normal day to day business.

"I have to go back to the mansion," Lian whispered urgently. His voice was nearly inaudible.

"Do you want us to go with you?" Shanniah asked gently.

Lian shook his head, "I can make it back on my own." He grabbed Hailey's wrist and gently guided her hand back to her side. He turned and silently, swiftly disappeared into the crowd.

His friends all looked at each other in confusion.

A moment later a young man with intense blue eyes and chocolate brown hair walked up to them. He was followed by a younger brunette woman with eyes that sparkled like they were made from literal gold.

Shanniah stepped forward when the two stopped in front of them, "Do you need something?"

"We're looking for our little brother," the man said curtly.

"He's shorter than us, has black hair, grey eyes," the woman sounded much kinder.

"I doubt he'd have introduced himself to anyone, but his name is Arkos'mii'lian," the man added.

Shanniah looked back at her friends.

They all shook their heads.

She shook her head, "Sorry. We don't know anyone by that name."

The man's eyes narrowed.

The woman touched his shoulder, "Daria. They're telling the truth."

He glanced at her and relaxed slightly. He nodded to them and silently strode past them.

The woman smiled in a friendly manner, "Forgive my brother. He's...tense. Have a good day." She followed her brother.

Shanniah looked at her friends fearfully.

"Is that...what's wrong with Lian?" Hailey asked.

Shanniah nodded and whispered, "I think so."


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Lian paced the room. He felt like he was going to be sick. His mind raced. If Daria was here then undoubtedly their father wouldn't be far away. And he had been gone for twelve weeks. Twelve weeks without returning home. After telling Daria he was returning to the palace. He jumped and squeaked when someone knocked on the door. His heart rate rose and his breathing got shorter. He swallowed, "Yes?" His voice was shaky and nervous.

"It's Vala. Can I come in, Kid?"

Lian sat down on his bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and rested his chin on them, "Yeah. Sure."

Vala opened the door and closed it behind her, "What's going on? You came in in a rush."

Lian shrugged, "Um...I'm just..." He shifted so his arms were on his knees and buried his face in them. He took a deep breath. It wasn't like she had anything to do with what was going on. And he was almost certain she'd die if she tried to help him. This was Ravnica after all. The home of the previous God of the Sky and Sea. His father would not be kind. And if he told her then her death would be his fault. If he told her there would be a lot more than just the blood of a mouse on his hands. And he could barely live with himself for that.

He swallowed and lifted his head to look at her, "I'm just stressed. For some reason it was all so overwhelming today." He chewed on his lower lip, "I mean, it didn't used to be like this."

Vala shrugged, "That happens sometimes. It doesn't necessarily need a trigger." She studied him, "Have you had problems with crowds before?"

"Well..." Lian was silent for a while. He swallowed again, "Back on my world people weren't the nicest to me."

Vala nodded, "Sometimes those things can come back up without a trigger." She smiled, "And it's okay to not go out everyday. Your friends will be fine with it if you just tell them."

"But that's what we do," Lian argued, "We go out in the mornings and then we spend the afternoons messing around and then we watch a movie."

Vala chuckled, "And that's good. But when it gets to be too much, it's better to just stay in."

Lian nodded, "Okay."

Vala patted his head, "And don't be afraid to talk to us. We're more than happy to help you, Lian. We just have to know that you need our help."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Ma'am." He smiled, "I will."

Vala smiled, "You know where to find me if you need me, alright, Kid?"

Lian smiled back to her, "Yes, Ma'am."

Vala got to her feet. She turned to leave but turned back to him, "And Lian."

Lian looked up at her.

"I mean it," Vala insisted, "Get me if you need me. You aren't a bother. Whatever I happen to be doing, your well being is more important."

Lian's eyes widened, "R-Really?"

Vala nodded, "Absolutely." She left the door open behind her when she left.

Lian didn't bother to close it. He walked over to the pile of supplies he had left and sat down in front of it. He would finish Spell Breaker and then he'd pack up and leave. That way if his father got angry it was at him and him alone. At the very least Spell Breaker would keep him alive. Even if it was destroyed shortly afterward.

He shoved a couple of books into his backpack and popped open the window. He might just be able to stay on Ravnica. He would just have to outmaneuver his father and older siblings long enough that they gave up. Assumed he was dead. It would take a long time. Likely long enough his current friends would die of old age before he could see them again. But here on Ravnica, at least there was a chance he'd be able to make new ones.

Lian dropped down into the empty courtyard of the mansion. Scaling the fence was easy. He silently apologized to Vala, Ral, and his friends and disappeared into the alleyways.

Shanniah and Jexus made it through the doors into the mansion first, quickly followed by the other three. Shanniah darted into Vala's room without knocking, "Lian's siblings are here!"

Vala was instantly concerned, "What happened?"

"Lian was uncomfortable and not really paying any attention all day," Jexus started.

"I tried to talk to him, asked him if he was alright," Hailey continued, "He told me he was fine. But then he got really tense and said he needed to come back here."

"And then his sister and brother came up to us and asked if we had seen him at all," Sammy added.

"I told them no," Shanniah admitted fearfully.

"Is he here?" Zven asked.

Vala nodded, "He was up in the room."

They all turned to go barreling up the stairs but Vala stopped them, "If his siblings are here I doubt he's still there."

They all stared at her in horror.

"You mean...he left?" Hailey asked.

"Is he going to be alright?" Jexus asked.

"Oh, he'll live," Vala nodded, "It's his mental state we're going to have to worry about. Especially if they find him." She fixed a hard stern gaze on all of them, "The five of you are going to stay here. Do not leave this mansion. I am going to look for him."

"But-"

"No buts." Vala ordered. She shook her head. Her voice was dark and quiet as she continued, "None of you know how to defend yourselves against something like this. They are gods. You are children."

They all lowered their gazes.

"Yes Ma'am," Shanniah nodded.

"What happens when you find him?" Hailey asked.

Vala took a deep breath, "Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that if his initial reaction to his biological family coming here is to run, then it's probably best they don't find him." She nodded to the group, "Don't stay up too late, Kids." She marched out of the mansion.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Lian wandered through Ravnica. He didn't really see any of it. He had no idea where he was in relation to anything he knew. He had purposefully headed away from the parts of the city where he spent the most time. That way people wouldn't recognize him immediately upon his brother's description. He stayed on the move. Never stayed in the same part of the city for longer than it took to walk through it. His legs ached but he ignored them. He was pretty hungry but he didn't stop to eat regularly. He only ate when his hunger became unbearable.

It had been two days already. Word of Seth'ius's presence had spread quickly. The once welcoming and warm people of Ravnica were wary. A dark cloud had settled over the world. Whispers spread of Lian's presence on the world, but none of them could identify him based on appearance. So he was able to slip through crowds unnoticed.

Lian had no doubt Ravnica would protect him until the last brick of the city was destroyed but he didn't want that. He wanted them to be left in piece but he also didn't want to leave. So he disappeared. Played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with his family. But the longer it dragged out the more likely it was he would die if he was found.

It occurred to him that he was going to collapse if he didn't rest soon. He found a nice place to hide in the storage room of a general shop. He climbed up onto one of the higher boxes in a very tall stack. He pulled off his backpack and set it in his lap as he leaned against another box. It wasn't the most comfortable place but he would see anyone before they saw him.

"Two days down," Lian whispered to himself.

An image popped into his head of his friends finding him just as his father did. His father killed them the same way he had the mouse. Magical chains wrapped around their bodies and they shrieked as their flesh slowly burned, until it all overwhelmed them. The chains wrapped tighter and tighter around his friends' bodies until they were all dismembered. Their screams echoed in his mind after the image of their scorched bodies faded.

Lian shuddered and curled up into a tight ball. He covered his ears and shook his head, "That's why I'm here. And they're all the way...however far the mansion is."

Ral jumped and growled as someone pounded on the mansion doors. He threw the doors open theatrically.

Seth'ius and two kids that were presumably Lian's older brother and sister stood on the other side of the doors.

Ral scowled and closed the door behind him. He bowed slightly, "What can I do for you today, O Great Lord of the Sun?"

"Cut the theatrics, Izzet Mage," Seth'ius snarled, "I want to talk to the girl these two talked to the other day."

"You're gonna have to be more specific, My Lord," Ral commented dryly, "There are a lot of girls living in this mansion." Ral raised an eyebrow as Lian's brother stepped forward.

"The girl had deep brown hair in a braid that was pulled over her right shoulder. Her hair went down to the bottom of her rib cage. And her eyes are the color of the night sky."

Ral shook his head, "Nope. Not ringing any bells yet."

Lian's brother rolled his eyes.

Ral smirked a little bit. Daria did the small head movement Jace would do every time he was annoyed.

"She was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans with white and silver gems running down the outside of her left leg to her knee and a pair of untied black combat boots. She had a white jacket that had floral embroidery on the back of it. Specifically lotus flowers and vines over a solid black crop top."

Ral was impressed, "You have a very good memory."

"Go get the girl Zarek. We know she lives here," Seth'ius snarled.

Ral turned sharply to Seth'ius and glared at him, "I'm going. I'm going. Give me a minute." Ral went back into the mansion and called for Shanniah.

Shanniah came down the stairs, "Yes?"

"There's somebody here to talk to you," Ral said darkly, "You're not going to like at least one of them."

Shanniah nodded nervously, "Okay."

Ral led her outside. He made sure to step out first and remained slightly in front of her.

Shanniah's breath caught in her throat. It was Seth'ius. Lian's father. The man that had killed her parents. Her friends' parents. The parents of every kid in the mansion. She cleared her throat, stood straighter and looked all three of the people in front of her in the eyes, one by one. She then looked back to Seth'ius, "I was told you wished to speak with me."

Seth'ius shoved Daria forward, "Daria'lis, describe to her your brother. In detail."

Daria'lis nodded, "Yes, Father." He turned to Shanniah.

Shanniah met his gaze with a facade of calm.

"Mii'lian has black messy hair. It's held back by four clips on the left side. Two gold. Two light blue. On the right side it falls into his face and it spikes out everywhere in the back. He's pale and has blue tinted grey eyes. He wears three necklaces. One is just metal rectangles. One has a dark blue green cat head pendent. The other one I haven't seen if it has a pendant or not. He wears a black hoodie that has gold cuffs over a white turtleneck, dark blue cargo pants and beat up black boots."

Shanniah shook her head, "I don't know him. I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance."

Daria'lis nodded curtly.

Seth'ius looked at Lian's sister, "Well? Is she telling the truth, Mayu?"

Mayu nodded, "As far as I can tell she is telling the truth."

Seth'ius nodded, "Let us go then. We have to find him."

Daria'lis nodded, "Yes Father."

Shanniah released the breath she'd been holding. She looked at Ral, "Is Mayu going to be okay?"

Ral nodded, "She'll probably be fine. It's Lian I'm worried about. We need to find him. Preferably before they do."

"We can help you find him," Shanniah offered instantly.

"Now way, Girlie. You'll be dead if Seth'ius finds you with Lian."

"Lian is our friend!" Shanniah insisted, "We have to help him!" She took a deep breath and was calmer when she asked, "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?"

Ral paused. He gritted his teeth. He had been explicitly told to make sure the group didn't go running off to find Lian. But she had a really good point. He sighed in defeat, "I'll talk with Vala about it."

Shanniah smiled gratefully, "Thanks Ral. You're the best."

Ral found Vala in the Azorius Guildhall, talking with Lavinia and a couple other arresters. He interrupted the conversation without really thinking about it, "So, Vala."

Vala sighed, "Yes, Zarek?"

"Water Boy's friends want to help find him."

"You didn't tell them yes did you?" One of the other arresters demanded.

Ral rolled his eyes, "Of course I did. Because I'm a complete idiot." He shook his head, "No. I told them I'd talk with you about it."

Vala tapped her nose thoughtfully. After a moment she asked, "They're going to do it either way, aren't they?"

Ral nodded, "Probably."

Vala pinched the bridge of her nose. She groaned. Twenty seconds later she took a deep breath, "Fine. Just make sure you stay with them. They will need you if they run into Seth'ius."

Ral nodded, "Yes Ma'am." He made his way back to the mansion with Vala. It was odd that the guilds were racing Seth'ius to find Lian. Then again, maybe not. Lian was the New God of the Sea after all. And what did Ravnica hold sacred above all other things? The one thing that hasn't changed since the sun refused to rise five hundred thousand years ago. The sea.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Lian!"

Hailey and Jexus reached him first followed by Shanniah, Zven, and Sammy. Ral trotted up just behind them, glancing around.

Hailey wrapped her arms around him tightly before he could even say anything, "You're alright!" She pulled away from him and held his shoulders, "Thank the sea we found you!"

Lian stared at his friends, "But...I-You were supposed to stay at the mansion. Why are you here?"

"You're a part of our family," Hailey insisted.

"We're gonna protect you," Jexus promised.

"But you can't!" Lian yelled. He stepped away from them, "I don't want you to! Please, just leave."

"Lian," Shanniah put her hand on his shoulder gently, "We're your friends. And friends don't abandon each other when things get rough."

Lian shook his head, "No. No. You can't. You're going to die! My father is going to kill you! He's done it before!" He held his head in his hands, "Twelve weeks. I was gone for twelve weeks. He's going to be _livid_. He'll be so angry. I didn't go home. I betrayed my family-"

Hailey pulled Lian into a hug again, "It's alright. Lian. Ravnica will protect you. You'll be okay."

"I don't want Ravnica to protect me!" Lian insisted almost angrily, "I want you guys to be left alone! I want-"

"Lian," Ral interrupted firmly.

Lian lifted his head so that he could see Ral over Hailey's shoulder, "Yeah?"

Ral smiled warmly at him, "Listen to me, alright? The Guildpact wasn't from here originally either. Like him, you are a part of Ravnica's family. And anyone that makes you feel like this, simply because you prefer a place other than where you were born isn't really family. It doesn't matter who they are or how they happen to relate to you. Do you understand?"

Lian hesitated.

"You are a part of our family," Jexus assured him confidently, "We may not be able to do much, but we're still going to help you. We'll help you with whatever you need."

All of his other friends nodded.

Lian studied them all uncertainly, "Do-Do you really mean it?"

Hailey smiled and patted the back of his head, "Of course we mean it, Silly."

Lian swallowed, "Okay. I...I guess." His jaw tightened, "I just-I'm scared. I've never had friends. My father will kill you when he-when he finds out."

Hailey pulled away from him and held her hand out toward him, "C'mon. Let's go home."

Lian gingerly took her hand.

Jexus wrapped his arm around Lian's shoulders, "Lady Iris will handle your father." He winked, "Just roll with it. It'll all come to an end soon."

"Things won't go back to the way they were exactly," Shanniah admitted, "But they'll be better in the end."

Lian nodded hesitantly but didn't say anything.

His friends led him back to the mansion. Everyone was tense. They scanned the area around them nervously. Halfway there they were met by a mixed Boros-Azorius patrol and escorted the rest of the way there. Lavinia and Vala stood in front of the gates to the mansion. Both of them looked relieved to see the group walking up safe and sound.

Vala jogged up to them. She looked at Ral, "Report?"

Ral shook his head, "No sign of them. But we found him."

Vala nodded. She turned to the kids, "Get inside, get washed up. Dinner will be ready in somewhere around twenty minutes."

They nodded, "Yes Ma'am."

Lian didn't look at Vala. He caused her all this trouble. And now the mansion had patrols circling it, ready for when his father heard word.

"Don't worry about it, Kid," Vala ruffled his hair, "You can't control your father's actions."

Lian nodded, "Yes Ma'am."

Lavinia led the group inside, "Keep the windows covered until we tell you otherwise, okay?"

"Yes Ma'am."

"Lian!"

"You're back!"

They were welcomed by a swarm of the other kids in the mansion. Lian was bombarded with questions. Was he okay? Why'd he leave? Where did he go?

"Quiet down everyone!" Lavinia raised her voice to be heard over it all.

Lian flinched.

Lavinia whispered an apology before she continued speaking to the gathered crowd, "Lian's had a rough time. Give him some space."

"Yes Ma'am," the all said in unison.

"Find something to do, downstairs, until dinner is ready," Lavinia commanded.

They all returned to what they were doing.

Lavinia left Lian in the capable hands of his friends and went back outside. She approached Ral and Vala, who were talking off to the side.

Ral smiled at her, "Hey, Lavinia."

"Lian's friends are looking after him," Lavinia said calmly.

Ral shook his head disapprovingly, "Nobody should be that terrified of their own father." He glared around him, "Seth'ius somehow convinced the kid that he was betraying his family if he did anything himself or anything for himself. What the-"

"Ral," Lavinia interrupted calmly, "I understand how you feel but you must calm down. You aren't strong enough to take Seth'ius on. And you're banished from the world he holed himself up on anyway."

Ral took a deep breath, "I know. But it's still awful."

"When the seals finally break, we'll be able to do something. Until then we can only wait. And defend Lian to the best of our ability," Vala said.

Lian blinked and sat up. He'd fallen asleep on the couch before dinner. And it was long since past dinner time now. His friends were asleep all around him, all dog piled together.

Lian pried himself free and wandered into the kitchen. He jumped and shrieked when he found someone already digging through the fridge.

Ral turned around, "Oh, hey, Water Boy. What's up?" He handed Lian a bowl of fruit.

Lian took it and sighed, "You scared me. What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for food," Ral shrugged. He smirked and winked at Lian.

Lian looked down at the fruit, "What's in this?"

"Pineapples, melons of various sorts. I think there might be berries too. It's pretty close to the front so it shouldn't be too old," Ral patted Lian's shoulder, "There's plenty of other stuff in there if you'd like something else."

Lian looked through the fridge, organizing it in the process. Eventually he settled on the fruit bowl and a muffin. He sat at the table his friends usually sat at and ate silently. It was odd to be back in the mansion. And to hear the constant sound of armored boots patrolling the courtyard. None of the kids were allowed outside with a patrol to accompany them.

He knew his father would find him. It was only a matter of time. But he had no idea when it would happen. He had told them that Seth'ius would come. Yet they were still here. It wasn't going to be until the last minute that they realized what he'd meant.

Lian pulled Spell Breaker out of his pocket and set it on the table next to him. He spun it slowly with his fingers, "I could help. Make sure they get out okay. While the Guilds distract my father and brother." He nodded slowly, "Mayu wouldn't hurt them. And she wouldn't even think to attack the other kids." He rested his face on his hand, "Daria will. They're all corrupted to him. All dangerous. Even if they beg and plead, he won't spare a single one. All because he thinks he's 'saving them'. That is what Father says after all."

 _He's coming. Be ready. Quickly._

Lian jumped and looked around. His eyes widened. He recognized the voice. He'd heard it once before. When Kayla was panicking at the bottom of the ocean. Lian got to his feet and made his way over to his friends. He shook them awake, "Guys. Guys."

"Hmm?"

"He's coming. Tonight."

"Tonight?!" Hailey sat up quickly.

Lian nodded darkly, "Tonight." He jogged over to the doors and stuck his head out. The guards on either side turned to him in surprise. Lian walked up to the one to the right, "My father's coming."

"We-"

"No." Lian interrupted firmly. He met the man's gaze, glaring into the man's ink colored eyes, "He's coming now. Tonight."

The guards eyes widened. He nodded, "I'll let the patrol know."

Lian nodded and went back inside. His friends had gotten all of the other kids up. They were all looking to him, as though waiting for some sort of instruction. He stared at them blankly.

"You're the oldest. You know the possible situations ahead of us best," Shanniah said confidently, "What should we do?"

Lian chewed his lower lip. He had no idea how to handle a situation like this. The obvious answer was to leave the mansion. But how? When? And where would they go? He looked at Shanniah, "Are there mansions nearby? Within walking distance?"

Shanniah nodded, "There is one. It's about a day and a half walking."

The sounds of battle erupted suddenly out of nowhere. Bright blinding flashes of light lit up the room through the windows. The sounds of metal meeting metal rang through the air. Cries of pain could be heard clearly, even within the walls of the mansion. The younger kids screamed and many broke down entirely.

"Sh, it'll be alright." Lian did his best to sound gentle. He looked at Shanniah and his friends, "It's our job to protect them. We'll leave out the back. And head for the other mansion."

Shanniah nodded, "Sounds like a plan." The two of them looked at their other friends.

"Agreed?" Lian asked.

They all nodded solemnly.

Lian's face hardened in icy determination, "The back door. There isn't any fighting behind the mansion."

"There's a trapped door hidden underneath some junk," Hailey mentioned, "It leads to a tunnel that comes out on the other side of the fence of the mansion."

"We'll partner up. A younger kid with an older one," Shanniah turned to the kids gathered in front of them, "Pick a partner. Stay with them. Don't let your partner out of your sight. Do you understand?"

The all nodded.

Lian motioned towards the back door, "Hurry. I can hear them coming closer."

They all filed out the back door, two at a time. Lian left last. He took the time to draw the symbols for a locking enchantment into the door. At the very least it would buy them some time. Once he was done he hurried after them all.

Jexus felt around on the ground for a minute. When he found the latch he pulled the trapped door up, grunting with the effort. He ushered the other kids in. Lian dropped in just before him and waited. Jexus dropped in, pulling the latch closed behind him.

"We're not getting out this way again," Lian declared as he drew on another locking enchantment.

There were a few whimpers of fear from various kids around him.

Lian smiled warmly, "Don't worry. We won't be trapped down here."

Jexus nodded to Hailey, "Lead the way, Sister."

Hailey led the way through the tunnel.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Daria waited for them, leaning against a wall nearby with his arms crossed over his chest. He stood straight when the door opened and approached the group. His eyes were narrowed angrily as he walked right up to Shanniah. He towered over her, being much taller, and all around bigger than her. He looked down at her, "You lied."

Shanniah didn't shrink and met his gaze defiantly, "I did what I had to in order to protect my friend."

"You corrupted him in the first place," Daria snarled, "You know nothing of protecting others-"

"Daria," Lian's voice was firm and calm. He surprised even himself because he wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and hide. He'd never seen his brother this angry.

Daria turned to him, "Mii'lian. Why didn't you go to the palace like you said you would? We put our trust in you and you betrayed it."

"I didn't come here on purpose," Lian snapped. He gripped Spell Breaker tightly in his right hand, "Leave them alone. They can't fight you."

"They're evil," Daria motioned around them, "This world has not seen the light of the sun for hundreds of thousands of years."

"Holy light he sounds almost insane," Lian muttered under his breath. He jumped and turned towards the sky when loud booming thunder echoed around them. A thousand curses ran through his head. Lightning was on it's way. He'd seen Daria do this before in training. "Get down!"

All of the kids crouched on the ground, their hands covering their heads.

Lian raced over them and barely managed to get in front of them in time to take the enormous lightning bolt headed their way. Spell Breaker absorbed the energy. The device started to vibrate at a high frequency.

Lian stumbled backwards. He glanced at the device in surprise. Not that he was mad. He just didn't know it could do that.

Daria's eyes widened in shock, "What did you do?!"

Lian shook his head, "I didn't do anything." He turned to his friends and the other kids and told them to go before he glared at Daria, "Since you don't seem to get it, let me spell it out in no uncertain terms. You. Aren't. Going. To. Touch. Them."

Daria tried to get past Lian in order to reach them but Lian refused to get out of his way. Daria shouted, "Get out of my way!"

"No!" Lian stood firm. He was woefully inexperienced in comparison to his brother. But he had other advantages.

"I knew I should've brought my bow," Daria muttered under his breath.

Lian was very glad his brother hadn't. There would've been nothing he could do at that point.

Daria pulled one of his swords out of it's sheath and pointed it at Lian, "Don't let them corrupt you, Lian."

"If defending children is your idea of corrupted then you're too late," Lian stated, "because I'm not moving."

Daria leaped forward with jarring speed.

Lian hopped backwards. Thanks to the boots he'd made earlier he managed to get out of Daria's way. Without them pushing him farther than he could normally go he would've been sliced in half. He stumbled but managed to find his footing. He ran from Daria in the opposite direction the other kids had gone. His brother followed him.

One thing Lian was good at was hiding. And he knew this part of the city well. He grinned, "Catch me if you can, Daria!" He leaped into the air and landed on a rooftop. He ran along the edge of it, scanning the ground beneath him.

Daria flew right over him and landed in front of him, both of his swords pointed at him, "You have no powers. What are you doing?"

Lian smirked, "I do have powers." He slid off the roof and landed on the ground, shouting over his shoulder, "I'm a mechanic!" Lian took a winding path through the streets of Ravnica, turning left or right on a whim.

Lian dropped off the walkway he was currently on, landing and rolling on the one beneath it. He ducked into a doorway and flattened himself into the door under the overhang.

Daria, naturally was flying. That gave him a view of everything. Hypothetically speaking. However the streets of Ravnica were tight and the route Lian took was completely random. Daria landed and looked around uncertainly. Lian was gone.

Lian slid silently out from under the overhang. He leaped back up to the walkway and retraced his steps. The speed boost the boots provided him with was exhilarating. He dropped down and skidded to a halt behind the group when he finally found them.

They all spun around.

Shanniah smiled in relief, "You're alright."

Lian nodded. He was out of breath and the last traces of his grin were still present on his face. He took a deep breath, "Let's keep going."

Shanniah nodded. She continued to lead the way.

Lian didn't notice but the younger kids especially were staring at him in awe now. Almost like they were just now beginning to believe that maybe he was a god.

"Father, I lost Lian," Daria admitted as he landed and jogged towards Seth'ius. He didn't spare a glance at the carnage that filled the mansion courtyard.

Mayu walked around the bodies littering the battlefield. She knelt down and closed the eyes of those that were staring blankly at the sky, "May The Dead Mother watch over you in your afterlife."

"Mayu!" Daria called to her. He walked over to her, "What are you doing? We need to find Lian, before this world corrupts him any further."

Mayu met his gaze calmly, "I am sending these people to The Dead Mother."

"Why?" Daria asked, "It's a waste-"

"No." Mayu shook her head, "It is not a waste of time." She was silent for a moment and then nodded, "Now that they have been saved from the corruption they were raised in, we have to send them away with our best wishes. So they make it safely to The Dead Mother's welcoming arms."

Understanding dawned on Daria. He nodded, "Very well. I will leave you to it."

Mayu nodded appreciatively.

"Father and I are going to find Lian," Daria said.

Mayu glanced at him, "Ask Father if he can wait one moment. I am almost done."

Daria nodded, "Of course." He walked back to Seth'ius, "Mayu would like a minute, Father. She is almost done."

Seth'ius growled, "Tell your sister to hurry up. We do not have time to spare, Daria'lis."

Daria nodded, "Yes, Father."

Mayu met him halfway to her, "I am done."

Daria looked relieved but his expression quickly cleared, "Good. We don't have time to spare."

Mayu nodded, "Let's go then."


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Mii'lian!" Seth'ius's angry voice reverberated around them. The sound of his armored boots hitting the walkways as he strode towards them drilled into their ears.

Lian groaned. They were almost there. Only a couple more hours and they would've made it to the other mansion. He turned to face his father, "Can you wait? For just a couple of hours-"

"What do you think you're doing here?" Seth'ius snarled as though he hadn't been aware that Lian had even been talking.

Lian scowled.

Seth'ius reached out to grab Lian's arm but Lian pulled away from him.

Lian glared at his father, "I'm not going anywhere, Father."

Seth'ius back handed Lian hard enough that he stumbled backwards.

"Lian!" Shanniah called out.

Daria caught Lian before he fell and pointed one of his swords at the kids past his brother.

Lian shoved the sword to the side, "Put that away. They're children. They don't stand a chance against you." He gave his brother a dark look before transferring it to Seth'ius.

"Where you go is not up to you," Seth'ius growled threateningly.

"He doesn't have to go back if he doesn't want to," Shanniah argued defiantly.

"He's perfectly well looked after here," Jexus added.

"Yeah!" Sammy agreed.

Lian turned to them. He swallowed and whispered, "Guys. You're gonna get hurt."

Seth'ius glared at them like he'd just now noticed they were there, "What he is and isn't able to do is none of your concern."

Lian gripped Spell Breaker where it was in his pocket. He slowly stepped towards his friends.

Daria grabbed his arm, "Mii'lian."

Lian pulled free, "Let me go!"

Daria grabbed him again and pulled him backwards, "Don't get involved in this! They're corrupted!" He wrapped both of his arms around Lian's shoulders and held him there.

"No they're not!" Lian fought his brother. He tried to pull free of him but had no success.

"Let him go!" Hailey yelled, "That's no way to treat someone you claim to care about! This isn't how family works!"

"Leave him alone!" Zven shouted.

"Insolent children," Seth'ius lifted one of his hands towards them.

"No! Father! Leave them alone!" Lian writhed in Daria's grasp. He clutched Spell Breaker tightly in his hand. He could feel the edge of the device digging into the palm of his hand painfully.

Mayu attempted to negotiate, "Father-"

Seth'ius's actions interrupted her.

In a single bright flash of light and a collective scream of pain the five teenagers turned to ash. The other kids remained silent, horror and fear twisting their small innocent faces.

Mayu almost vomited from the intense pain and fear and resolute determination. The five of them knew what they were doing. And the knew the likely consequences as well. Lian's screaming echoed in her mind like it was all far away. Her vision blurred and faded in and out from blackness. A ringing in her ears blocked out everything, except Lian.

"Let your dimwitted brother go," Seth'ius ordered harshly.

Daria let Lian go.

Lian dropped limply to his knees. He stared numbly at the ash that had been his friends.

"Get up," Seth'ius attempted to grab him.

Lian scrambled away from him and yelled, "Don't!" His voice got very low and vaguely threatening, "Touch me."

"Are you threatening me, Mii'lian?" Seth'ius asked angrily.

Lian got to his feet and dusted himself off. His body ached and his legs felt weak. He could hear the other kids quietly whimpering. But they were all too scared to cry. He glared at Seth'ius, "I'm not threatening you, Father. But they were my friends. I thought that's what you wanted. For me to interacting with people before judging them. To _make friends_. Or were you lying?"

"You don't have friends!" Seth'ius yelled, "People will either fear you or use you."

One of the other kids stepped forward on shaking legs that barely held her weight, "Lian." Her voice was barely audible.

Lian's grip on Spell Breaker tightened.

Seth'ius turned and lifted his hand towards the other kids, the same way he had Lian's friends.

Lian raced forward, outmaneuvering Daria, and placed himself between Seth'ius and the others. He threw his arms up in front of his face, making sure that just enough of Spell Breaker was showing between his fingers that it would be able to catch the spell.

The beam of light hit him full blast. He growled and it quickly escalated to a scream. He felt himself sliding backwards. The sleeves of his hoodie caught fire but he ignored the stinging sensation that accompanied it.

The beam faded. Lian still stood. His arms fell to his sides. He took his hoodie off, his breathing ragged. His arms were burned up to the middle of his upper arm. His gaze was harder than steel, "Don't. Touch. Them." His eyes narrowed, " _Seth'ius_." The blue grey of his eyes slowly shifted to a more saturated sky blue. They shifted and flowed like they were made of water. A wind kicked up around him, tossing his hair and ripping at his clothes.

"They are corrupted, Arkos'mii'lian," Seth'ius turned to fully face him, "Darkness and betrayal incarnate."

"They're just children," Lian growled, "You already destroyed their parents and their home. Leave. Them. Alone."

Seth'ius's hand rose again.

Lian's arms shot up in front of his face.

The beam came again.

Lian's heart skipped a beat when he heard a subtle cracking sound. Spell Breaker was breaking. It wouldn't be able to take another attack like this. He gritted his teeth. Defiant determination the likes of which he'd never known consumed him. He didn't care about what the consequences would be. His eyes deepened into a dark blue resembling water in a storm. His eyes turned opaque, filled with raging ocean waves. He screamed, "Leave thEM ALONE!" A warm tingling sensation surged through him along with a feeling of safety and comfort.

The ocean happily answered him. Pillars of water rose higher than the buildings around them. They coalesced into a gigantic sphinx. It's form was easily definable. It had visible facial features and waves rippled like muscles through it's body as it landed between Lian and Seth'ius.

The light beam was reflected in a thousand directions. Seth'ius stopped instantly before he was blinded permanently. However his vision blurred.

The sphinx swatted Seth'ius aside. The god of the sun flew sideways like a ragdoll.

Daria's eyes widened fearfully. He stepped back and held both of his swords more tightly. His hands shook slightly. He swallowed. In all of his five hundred thousand years of life he had never seen a water demon that was this defined. He could see the anger plain on it's face as it attacked his father.

Lian stared at the creature with empty eyes before he collapsed onto his side. Spell Breaker fell out of his hand and skidded a few inches away. It had a large crack down one side.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Iris looked up as a bright light illuminated the entire room through her windows. She nodded to Isperia and Aurelia, "Please excuse me." She leaped across the meeting hall of the Guildpact's Palace easily and opened the large double doors with a single nudge. She charged across the floating island and jumped off of it's edge.

Aurelia and Isperia followed her.

Iris arrived in time to see a sphinx made of water evaporating away in a brightly glowing white cage. But the god of the sun struggled to keep the cage intact. Her gaze was drawn to a group of children huddled up against a building, covered in dust and dirt, with wide terrorized eyes. She looked at the two Guild Masters flanking her, "Take the children to safety. I will deal with this."

Aurelia nodded, "Yes Ma'am." She went directly into a nose-dive.

Isperia sighed in mild annoyance as she watched the angel plummet. She nodded to Iris, "Consider it done," and followed Aurelia.

Iris landed and wrapped her tail protectively around Lian's unconscious form. Her voice was deep and raspy as she growled, "What are you doing here, Seth'ius?"

Seth'ius glowered at her, "I am fetching my son. Now step aside, lowly fiend."

Iris's eyes flashed, "I am no fiend." Her broad coppery red head moved very close to Seth'ius's comparatively small form, "I am a dragon." She lifted her head proudly and looked down at him, "Now tell me why you are here when this is not your world."

"Every world is my world," Seth'ius growled. He reached out his left hand and clenched his fist. Glowing golden chains leaped out of the ground and wrapped around her draconic form.

She growled and changed into a humanoid form. Her eyes were still a light blue with slit pupils and her skin was covered in patches of scales. She wore shining silver plate armor over chain mail. Her braces were wrapped in crystalline blue veins.

The chains fell uselessly to the ground.

Long black claws slowly grew out of her hands as she studied Seth'ius. She appeared calm on the outside.

Seth'ius growled and lowered his hand. He unsheathed his sword. A shield of light formed on his other arm. "Step aside, fiend," he commanded.

"I will not," Iris said confidently, "Not for as long as you intend to hurt the boy lying here." She motioned to Lian.

"He is my son. I can punish him how I see fit."

"Father-"

" _Silence_ , Mayu," Seth'ius ordered.

Mayu's entire face tightened. She growled softly but said nothing.

Seth'ius shot a beam of light at Iris.

Iris's claws absorbed the attack, glowing and turning white hot. She leaped forward.

Seth'ius dodged to the side, slicing down at her as he went.

She twisted so the blade hit her scaled side, as opposed to her back. Wings spread from her back and propelled her into the air.

Seth'ius followed her without hesitating.

Daria hurried over to Lian and knelt down next to him. The first thing he did was check his brother for a pulse. When he found it he felt every muscle in his body relax, "That's good." He put his hand near Lian's mouth. Lian's breathing was only slightly irregular.

Daria tentatively touched the side of Lian's head, "I'm glad you're alright. Things will be better when we get you home, Lian. Father and I will protect you." He got to his feet and walked over to stand next to Mayu, "Mii'lian is alright. His breathing is slightly irregular but that should clear up in time." He glanced at her nervously, "Right?"

Mayu nodded but kept her gaze on their father and Iris, "Yes."

Lian grunted and opened his eyes to slits. He was cold. And the pit was back in his stomach. His head was pounding to the beat of his heart. He jumped and sat up as something large crashed to the ground in front of him. His eyes widened. It was a dragon. It was Lady Iris. She was bleeding heavily from her left side and her wing looked mangled.

Lian got unsteadily to his feet and took a couple steps towards her.

"Don't go near that," Daria grabbed Lian's arm.

"Let go," Lian fought weakly. He didn't have the strength to really fight Daria but he was still gonna try.

Daria shook his head and pulled on Lian's arm, "C'mon, Mii'lian. We're going home."

Lian's eyes were glazed and unfocused but he tried to pull free again, "I'm not...I'm not going anywhere."

Mayu came up behind him and supported him as he swayed, "Well, you have to go somewhere. And Mother can help you."

"I don't want to go back," Lian insisted.

Daria let Mayu take over helping Lian. He walked over to their father, "Is he going to be alright, Father?"

Seth'ius nodded, "He'll be fine when we return to the palace." He put his hand on Daria's shoulder and looked into his eyes, "You're brother was almost possessed today. You need to keep a watchful eye on him, Daria'lis. He cannot seem to comprehend the danger he is in so you need to protect him from himself."

Daria's eyes widened. He nodded, "Yes Father!"

The four of them returned to the Gods' Palace. Mayu took Lian directly to Nissa, "Mother, he exhausted himself."

Nissa nodded, "I can tell." She got to her feet and placed her hands on either side of Lian's face. She closed her eyes and her fingertips glowed green.

Lian gasped.

Nissa's magical energy flowed through him. The usual tingling was accompanied with a cool and calming sensation. It was quite different from the warmth he was used to feeling. The symbol of the spell pressed against his cheeks, smooth and cold like metal.

The numbness faded and his limbs no longer felt like they were some combination of jelly and wet noodles. Now his whole body ached. All he wanted to do was sleep.

Nissa pulled her hands away and smiled at him, "Better?"

Lian nodded, "Yes, Mother."

Nissa turned to Mayu, "Help Lian to his room."

Mayu nodded, "Of course."

"Lian!" Kayla rushed up and hugged him.

Lian swallowed, "Um…hey, uh, Kayla."

Kayla pulled away and smiled up at him, "Tash said you had a mission! How was it?!"

Lian blinked at her. He glanced up at Tasha as she walked up. His sister's gaze was hard. She had lied to Kayla and he knew that if he snapped the bubble Tasha had created around his youngest sister she would never forgive him. He forced himself to smile, "It went well. But I really gotta rest now."

Kayla stepped aside, "Oh. Okay. Tell me about it when you get up?"

"He won't be able to do that," Seth'ius interrupted firmly.

Lian stiffened. He turned around and watched his father approach.

Seth'ius smiled at Kayla before turning his gaze to Tasha, "Take Kayla outside."

Tasha nodded, "Yes, Father." She grabbed Kayla's hand, "C'mon. Let's go to the Center."

"But, Tash-"

"Go, Kayla," Seth'ius said firmly.

Kayla followed Tasha away.

"Father-"

"Silence Mayu. Leave."

"I won't," Mayu said calmly, "Mother said to take him to his room. He needs rest. Whatever trouble he's getting into it can wait."

Lian stared at her with wide eyes. He'd never actually seen Mayu stand up to their father like that. That was something their mother was more likely to do.

"You have other duties to attend to, Lani'i'mayu," Seth'ius reminded her threateningly, "See that you attend to them. I will take Mii'lian to his room."

Mayu had a response ready but Lian beat her to it, "It's fine, Mayu. If you have other things to do then you should go do them." He fixed Seth'ius with a steady gaze through slightly narrowed eyes, "I'm sure Father _wouldn't_ hurt me."

Mayu turned to him in surprise. It almost sounded like he was challenging Seth'ius. She whistled softly, "Very well."


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Iris regained consciousness and transformed into her human form. Her left wing and arm were throbbing painfully. Her back and right side were covered in blood and she was lying in a small pool of it. But she was no longer bleeding. She rolled over her right side onto her hands and knees. When she tried to put weight on her left hand a stinging pain shot all the way up her arm into her shoulder and back.

She noticed a small device lying near her and sat back on her knees. She picked it up with her right hand and looked it over. There was a crack down the side of the device. And the screen glitched occasionally. She looked through the device. It had absorbed a powerful lightning spell and countered two of Seth'ius's light beams. She nodded, "So that's how the New God of the Sea survived." She struggled to get to her feet and collapsed.

"Lady Iris!" Aurelia landed, folding her white feathery wings against her back, and raced towards her. She helped the dragon to her feet, "Are you alright? We should-"

"Take me to the Izzet," Iris commanded.

Aurelia blinked at her.

"Ma'am," Isperia said as she landed, "With all due respect, we need to get you to a healer."

"Take me to the Izzet," Iris repeated her command.

Aurelia glanced at Isperia and then looked back to Iris, "Yes Ma'am."

The three of them walked carefully to the Izzet Guildhall.

"Go ahead and take the city off of lock down when you return to your guildhalls," Iris told the two of them, "Seth'ius has left."

"And the New God of the Sea?" Aurelia asked.

"He is gone as well. I failed to stop his family from taking him," Iris admitted shamefully.

Isperia and Aurelia exchanged worried glances.

"He will be alright," Iris promised, "Seth'ius would not dare destroy him. The Oracle has told him of the Sea God's importance."

"Will he _break_ the Sea God though?" Isperia asked.

Iris smirked, "He won't be able to. The New God of the Sea has picked up Ravnica's defiant spirit. And already has the Guildpact's contradictory attitude. If nothing else, he will help us simply to spite his father."

Isperia sighed in relief, "Good."

In the Izzet Guildhall Ral Zarek and many other Izzet Mages worked to repair the androids that had been damaged in the battle at the mansion. Iris pulled away from Aurelia and Isperia, "Ensure the dead are buried with honor."

"Yes Ma'am." The two nodded and left.

"Lady Iris!" Ral, Vala, and Lavinia hurried up to her.

"Are you alright?" Ral asked worriedly.

Iris ignored him and held out Spell Breaker, "I believe this belongs to the New God of the Sea. However since we cannot reach him it is your duty to look after it."

Ral stared down at it in horror, "So he's gone?"

Iris nodded, "He was taken back to his world."

Lavinia pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"What about the other kids?" Vala asked, "Are they alright?"

Iris paused. After a long silence she nodded, "Most are. Five are dead."

The three in front of her exchanged glances. Ral swallowed, "Which five?" His tone said he already knew the answer. He just wanted to be told he was wrong.

Iris closed her eyes, "His friends. Shanniah Seaquester, Hailey-Anne Serax, Jexus Shadowfell, Zven Shadowfell, and Sammuel Endier." She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, "The other children are in the Salara Institute. Give them some time to recover but they will know better what exactly happened."

Seth'ius dragged Lian into his room and threw him to the ground before closing the door.

Lian landed on his hands and knees. He turned and scrambled away from Seth'ius, into a corner between his desk and the bedroom window. He gritted his teeth.

The fox watched from his bed, snarling with it's ears flat back.

"While you were living under the delusion that those demons actually cared about you, your family, who loves you more than anything, has been searching for you. Worrying about. For weeks! Weeks!"

Lian turned away from Seth'ius, really wishing he had the power to phase through the floor.

Seth'ius grabbed the lower part of Lian's face and turned his head towards him, "Look at me when I am speaking to you!"

Lian clenched his jaw tightly. It felt like the weight of the world was sitting on his chest, keeping him from breathing, and his heart was going to jump out of his body at any minute.

"You're weak willed, Mii'lian! Even a simple child would've seen through that illusion. Those monsters you called your friends were another water demon," Seth'ius snarled.

Lian pushed down the urge to bite his father's hand. His friends had been kinder and more loving than nearly everyone on this miserable excuse for a world.

"You are lucky I have let you live this long," Seth'ius threatened, "Your very existence disrupts the peace of the multiverse. But if you continue in your defiance I will have no choice but to destroy you. You will not leave this world again. To do so will end in a fate worse than death." He shoved Lian into the wall and got to his feet, "Do you understand me?"

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father."

Seth'ius stormed out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Lian laughed to hide the fact that he really just wanted to curl up and cry, "Locked in my room again huh?" He got slowly to his feet.

The fox climbed down from the bed and trotted over to him. It jumped up onto the desk chair and looked up at him.

Lian smiled, "Hey, Buddy." He wrapped it in a hug, "You're one thing I did miss while I was gone." He petted it's head, "Did Loc look after you while I was gone?"

The fox barked.

Lian sighed and walked over to his bed. He wasn't tired anymore. It was unlikely he'd be able to sleep anyway. His stomach was tight and he was desperately trying to ignore the bombardment of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He sat down on his bed. After a couple deep breathes it all faded into numbness.

His eyes widened suddenly, "I'm still wearing my boots!" He grinned at the fox, "I'm still wearing my boots!"

The fox laid it's head down on his lap.

Lian gave it a flat look, "Really, Buddy? Can't you be excited for me?"

The fox lifted it's head and headbutted his side. It's tail flopped around behind it.

Lian laughed, "Thanks."

The fox barked again.

Lian watched as the sun rose. It's light shone directly into his window the moment it crested the horizon. He squinted around at his room, "Ow." He growled and flopped onto his bed. He covered his head with his pillow and buried his face into the mattress.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Lian blinked open his eyes to late evening. He'd actually managed to sleep through the day. He sat up and pulled his pillow off of his head. He yawned, "Wow. Maybe I'll just turn nocturnal." He snickered, "I'm sure Father would be so very proud of me if I did."

He jumped as the door to his room flew open. His eyes widened as his father stalked in, looking pissed. Confusion was his first response but it quickly faded into fear. He shrank into the wall.

"Mayu needs her strength and she won't have it if you continue to make her sick," Seth'ius snarled.

"But I'm not doing anything!" Lian insisted.

"That's it exactly it. Control your emotions, Mii'lian. Or I'll have them stripped away."

Lian's eyes widened in horror. He nodded quickly, "Yes, Father."

"Now, Mii'lian," Seth'ius commanded.

"Now?" Lian repeated. His mind raced. How was he supposed to control his emotions _now_? He swallowed and slowly forced his face to go blank.

Seth'ius finally nodded, "Better. I want you completely calm before I let you out of this room."

Lian nodded, "Yes, Father."

Seth'ius stalked out.

Lian took a deep breath and curled into a ball. He knew full well stripping someone's emotions was possible. He stopped and sat up straight, "But…But I thought telepaths are executed upon discovery of their abilities." He stared at his bedroom door, "Unless..." His eyes narrowed, "Unless Father has one hidden away somewhere."

He glanced at the fox. His head cocked to the side when the fox nodded at him.

Mayu found herself suddenly numb. She got to her feet and excused herself from the dinner table. She hovered outside Lian's door and focused on him. He was numb. Underneath it though was realization and a dangerously high level of curiosity.

She looked up as Daria and Seth'ius walked up. She nodded to them.

Lian jumped and cursed under his breath when the door opened.

Seth'ius came in again, this time with Daria and Mayu.

Lian barely managed not to roll his eyes. "Again?" he muttered under his breath.

"Mii'lian," Seth'ius sat down on Lian's bed.

Lian leaned away from him and put his hand on top of the fox's head, "Yes, Father?"

"No one is honoring you. The people on that corrupted world were only using you. The Old God of the Sky and Sea almost possessed you," Seth'ius explained gently.

"You should've known better," Daria added, "That world was dark."

Lian rolled his eyes and glared at his brother, "What did you expect me to do? It's not like I could get back on my own. I don't even know how I got there-"

"Mii'lian. Silence," Seth'ius commanded.

Lian clenched his jaw and pressed his lips together. He lowered his gaze to stare at his hands.

"It is because of your blatant defiance and unwillingness to listen and accept things as they are that people are afraid of you," Seth'ius continued, " _Everyone_ is afraid of you. Afraid that you will become like the previous god of the sea-"

" _Sky_ and sea," Lian corrected.

Seth'ius reached out to grab Lian but the fox leaped forward and bit down hard on Seth'ius's arm. The metal of his gauntlet bent inward in the creature's jaw. Seth'ius jerked away and tossed the fox into the wall.

"Buddy!" Lian got to his feet.

Daria grabbed him and shoved him back into his bed.

Lian snarled.

Seth'ius stalked across the room to where the fox snarled at him, it's ear flattened and it's teeth bared.

Lian tried to get past Daria again. He didn't dare use the boots. They'd launch him into the ceiling and then he wouldn't really be of any help to anybody.

Daria shoved him again and pinned him to the bed.

"Daria get off him!" Mayu yelled, "That's his fox!" When Daria ignored her she turned to their father. Her whip wrapped around her father's ankle and with a strong pull the man fell to the floor.

Lian struggled against Daria. Both of them fell off the bed and to the floor. Lian kicked Daria in the chest, sending his brother rolling into the wall. He raced over to the fox and picked it up.

In a single moment everyone in the room was wrapped with vines. Seth'ius was tossed into the hallway and pinned to the wall. Lian and Mayu were held still. Daria was lifted off the floor and set gently on his feet.

Nissa appeared in the doorway, "Enough." She looked at the three children. The vines let the three of them go, "Get to class. You're going to be late."

Mayu nodded as she wrapped her whip around her hand and placed it back at her hip, "Yes, Mother."

Lian held the fox close to his chest and silently trotted out of the room. The fox licked his chin.

"Mii'lian!" Daria went to follow Lian but Mayu caught his arm.

She met his gaze calmly, "Let him be for now. This was very chaotic. He'll need time to calm down."

"Why did you attack Father?" Daria asked.

Mayu glanced at where Seth'ius was held against the wall. The lie easily fell from her lips, "Because. That was Lian's fox. Mother gave him responsibility over it when he was young. Their life forces are connected." She met her brother's gaze calmly, "I don't know if Father realized that when he cornered the fox. If he had destroyed it, he would've destroyed Lian."

Daria stared at her. He glanced at Seth'ius, "Does Father know?"

Mayu shrugged, "I do not know if he does." She grabbed Daria's hand, "We have to get to class Daria."

Daria followed her. He looked like his entire world was caving in for about half the walk. Then he rationalized it, "There's no way Father could've known. Only Mother knows these things."

"And me," Mayu added.

"But you're the goddess of knowledge," Daria explained, "Of course you know."

Mayu sighed, "If that is how you would like to see it, Daria, then I cannot stop you."

"It's the only possible explanation!" Daria insisted, "Father only wants to protect Lian!"

Mayu sighed again and remained silent. She could tell that Daria genuinely believed what he was saying.

Lian sat in class, alone at his table, with his fox sleeping on the table in front of him. Nothing had changed from the last time he had been here. The other kids in the class all sat closer to the front while he sat in the back. The closest one to him was a kid two rows ahead of him that continually shot terrified glances at Lian over their shoulder. The instructor paced through the rows of tables where the other kids sat but never ventured any farther back.

He had noticed all of this before but it hadn't bugged him as much. Before it had been normal. Now that he knew what it could be like to have friends he really wanted it. He was the loneliest he'd ever felt. And the most bored he'd ever been. He laid his head down on the desk and poked the fox's nose.

The fox sneezed and scowled at him.

He chuckled and petted it, "Sorry, Buddy. I'm just the most bored I've ever been."

"Mii'lian be quiet. And keep that creature under control. You are disrupting the other students' learning."

Lian lifted his head. He filled his expression with every ounce of the boredom he felt, "Sorry. I'll be sure to figure out a way to keep my fox here from sneezing. But until I do, I'm afraid it's a completely natural response that everyone does and no one has control over."

When class finally ended Lian was the first out the door. He carried his fox, instead of letting it walk on it's own. He wasn't going to risk someone hurting it, accidentally or otherwise.

Mayu waited for him. She was talking with one of her classmates, but the moment the girl noticed Lian she apologized to Mayu and hurried away.

Lian watched her go.

She shot a terrified glance in his direction before she entered her classroom.

Mayu sighed and walked up to him. She put her hand on top of his head, "Don't mind her."

Lian looked up at Mayu. He sighed and lowered his gaze, "I'm not welcome here."

Mayu pulled him into a hug and petted the back of his head, "It'll be alright. Things _will_ get better Lian. We just have to wait."

"For how long?" Lian asked, "Everyone has waited for five hundred thousand years. And _nothing_ has changed."

Mayu pulled away from him and stared into his eyes, "Just a little bit longer."

Lian motioned to the kids walking through the halls around them. All of them gave the two of them plenty of space and eyed Lian as they walked by. Lian noticed and sighed, "A little bit longer their time? Or our time?"

Mayu lowered her gaze, "I don't know exactly how much longer it will be, Lian. I just know that it's coming. Soon."

Lian shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I don't want to be here anymore," he admittedly quietly. He looked around, "It's odd that a world so bright can be so dark and unwelcoming, but a world so dark was so warm and loving." He paused and lowered his gaze, "But, after what happened, I...I doubt I'll be welcome back."

Mayu nodded, "I'm sure they'd welcome you back with open arms, Lian. But if things line up a certain way, you'll be able to go there again. And you won't have to look back."

Lian cocked his head to the side curiously, "Okay?" He looked around again and chewed his lower lip, "I'm not going to class. I'll just wander until classes are over."

"Father's going to be angry with you," Mayu told him.

"In case you hadn't noticed," Lian muttered, "he's always angry with me."

Mayu shook her head, "Unfortunately." She put her hand on top of his head, "If you think leaving will do you good then go ahead and go."

Lian smiled at her, "Thanks Mayu." He made his way to the side door he usually left through. It was barred closed from the other side. He scowled and set his fox down on the ground, "Stay back, Buddy." He took out one of his pens and drew a handful of symbols onto the door. After a moment the symbols glowed a bright red.

Lian picked up his fox, who had refused to move, and jumped backwards as the doors exploded in a burst of flames. He picked his way through the wreckage and left the building.


	25. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Nissa stalked up to Seth'ius, her gaze stone cold. Her voice was calm but icy, "You're afraid of him turning into Jace and yet that is exactly what _you_ are doing."

Seth'ius grabbed her arm, lifted it above her head, forcing her to her toes, and snarled, "Silence, Elf. Know your place."

Nissa wrenched herself free. Her eyes remained stone cold. Everything about her was calm and steady. "I know my place." Her eyes narrowed, "Do you know yours?" She lifted her head proudly, "You will reap what you have sown, Seth'ius." She turned and left the room.

"My Lord!"

Seth'ius snarled quietly but turned, "Yes?"

"The New God of the Sea has left his classes," the instructor reported resignedly, "Again."

Seth'ius nodded, "I will find him."

As Lian walked through the streets of the city, he noticed every fearful glance, and every inch of space between him and everyone else. People altered their courses to get out of his way. And if they were moving they watched him closely as he walked by, but turned their backs to him when he looked at them.

The person he bought a loaf of bread from happily chatted with the customers before and after him, but doesn't say a word to him. They won't even look him in the eyes. And a mother called her children to her side when they strayed to close to him.

Lian wandered into the center. He sat on the ground by himself and set his fox down next to him. Instantly the people nearby moved. He looked around, feeling empty, "I can't believe this was normal for so long." He stared at his hands, "I'm so alone."

The fox pawed at his hands.

Lian looked at it gratefully. He petted it, "I know, Buddy. I still got you."

It's face scrunched up in disgust when he offered it some bread.

He laughed and shrugged, "Not much of a fan, huh?" He tore off little bits of the bread he had and left it on the ground. Almost instantly birds gathered around him. They pecked at the bread he left on the ground for them.

People walking by gave him a very wide berth and watched him warily long before they even got close to him.

Lian was aware of it, but did his best to stay focused on the birds. He smiled a little bit and patted the top of one's head, "How's it going?"

"Hey! Isn't that-"

"Don't go near him, Saira."

Lian looked up and watched a little girl, that was maybe five, as she was dragged away from him by her mother. He waved when she looked back at him.

The little girl waved back. The entire family quickly disappeared into the city.

Lian sighed and picked at his fingers, "What did I do?"

The fox rested it's head in his lap. It licked his hands and barked quietly.

Lian petted it, "I know, Buddy." He brightened when a familiar little rabbit hopped up to him. He reached out towards it, "Hey, Great Lord Hopster."

The rabbit approached him without fear and sniffed at his knee.

Lian laughed. He rubbed the rabbit's cheek, "How've you been, Little Guy?"

He scowled. He was almost out of bread. But he didn't feel like going back to the city proper to get more. It was nicer to be with animals that didn't give a damn who he was than to deal with people glaring at him and turning their backs to him. He sighed, "I'm almost out guys."

"That's okay."

Lian jumped and looked over his shoulder. He growled slightly, "Loc. Dammit, you scared me."

"Sorry," Loc sat next to him, "Father's looking for you."

"That's fine," Lian snapped, "He can look to his filthy heart's content."

Loc smiled at Lian, "Mayu knows something, you know."

Lian glanced at him, "Like what?"

Loc shrugged, "I don't know. She won't tell me. But she definitely knows. Ever since you left weeks ago she's challenged Father more and more. She's much more like Mother than she used to be." He laughed, "She's ready to fight."

Lian studied his younger brother. His eyes narrowed, "This is another one of those 'I don't give away other people's secrets' kind of things isn't it?"

Loc shrugged, "Who knows?"

Lian rolled his eyes, "Last time I listened to you I almost died."

"But you got answers didn't you?" Loc asked. He smirked, "By the way, your fox is a girl."

Lian gawked at him, "What?! But you told me years ago he-she wasn't a girl!"

Loc laughed, "I know."

Lian groaned and laid back, "Really?!" He sat up and shoved Loc playfully, "You little jerk."

Loc grinned at him, "I didn't expect you to believe me."

"You're the one that can talk to all these guys," Lian motioned to the collection of birds sitting in front of them, "What was I supposed to do?"

Loc shrugged and got to his feet, "I don't know. Maybe you should've just gone with your instincts."

Lian's eyes narrowed, "You are a pain in the ass. I am going to get in so much trouble because of you."

Loc shrugged again, "Who knows? Maybe it'll be worth it this time." His gaze became fixed on a point beyond Lian and he disappeared.

Lian scowled, "Whatever." He looked around and saw Seth'ius and Daria walking him. Instantly his amusement at Loc faded. It was like his father and older brother sucked all the positive energy out of him. He sighed and got to his feet. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and met them partway. He kept his head down.

"Why aren't you in class?" Seth'ius demanded.

"Because it's the most boring thing I've ever had the displeasure of having to do," Lian responded.

Seth'ius's face contorted with rage.

"Please don't, Father," Lian requested expressionlessly.

Seth'ius backhanded him anyway.

Daria's eyes widened but he didn't say anything. He quickly cleared his expression.

Lian pressed his lips together. After a moment he touched his cheek, "Ow."

"You're ungrateful. All you ever do is throw back into our faces everything that your family has ever done for you!"

Lian nodded slowly, "Yes, Father."

Seth'ius looked pleased, "To your room. You're not to leave it for twenty five days."

Lian nodded, "Yes Father." He picked his fox up and walked around his father and brother. He didn't look at Kala or Aria as he passed them on the way to his room. He set the fox down and kicked the door closed behind him. He laid down on his stomach and buried his face into his pillow, "Why do I have to be punished just for existing? Why can't I ever do anything right?"

The fox put it's head on top of his.

Lian could feel the numb calm that had consumed his since coming back begin to crack. It was all falling apart. He gritted his teeth.

The fox pulled away as he sat up.

Lian covered his face with his hands, "Father's going to be angry with me if I make Mayu sick again."

The fox stared at him intently. It's intense green eyes bored into him.

Lian didn't notice. He took very deep breaths in a desperate last ditch effort to remain calm.

The fox nudged at his hands with it's nose.

Lian slowly pulled his hands away from his face and looked down at it, "What?"

The fox barked and licked his hand.

Lian sighed. He laid back down and shoved his face into his pillow, "Why does he have to be the bad guy? Why does everybody think he's the bad guy? Maybe, just maybe, my life wouldn't be so miserable. If he had just-" He stopped when someone knocked on the door.

"It's Nissa. May I come in?"

Lian sat up and folded his hands in his lap, "Sure."

Nissa opened the door. She sat down next to Lian and wrapped him up in his blanket. She smiled, "I want you to listen to me, Lian."

Lian looked at her, "Yes, Mother."

Nissa cupped his cheek in her hand, "Something Seth'ius is very good at is pushing the blame onto others. I know it's going to be hard, but you need to do your best not to let him do it to you." Nissa kissed his forehead and held him close to her. She left.

Lian looked after her in confusion, "But...I don't understand."

"You remind him too much of his old enemy."

Lian jumped and turned towards his window.

A young woman with long brown hair and eyes the color of soil leaned against the windowsill. She straightened and walked over to him. Her fox ears were relaxed and her fluffy white tipped tail flicked back and forth at her ankles. She had visible freckles splashed across her face, neck, and shoulders. She sat down on his other side, "I'm Lucy."

Lian's eyes widened, "You...are one of the Old Deities. The Goddess of Sleep."

Lucy nodded, "That's me." She smiled, "I brought you the books on magic."

"Really? But I thought..." he glanced at the fox, even more confused now.

Lucy petted the fox, "She's a friend of mine." She looked at Lian, "I'm not really here. This is a mental projection because I was banished from this world by Seth'ius."

"Are you part of the Oracle's family?" Lian asked.

Lucy paused, "Well. Kind of. I'm a friend of the Oracle's older brother. But I was banished with her family."

Lian nodded, "So Ravnica's version _is_ the right one."

Lucy shook her head, "Not really. No version is the right one."

Lian cocked his head to the side, "Then...Then what really happened?"

"I don't know," Lucy admitted, "I wasn't involved in any of it."

"I'm confused," Lian looked around, "What are you doing here?"

"I come to people when they are having difficulties to try and help."

"Really?" Lian asked uncertainly.

Lucy nodded, "You want answers. You want to know why you are punished so harshly for things your siblings could get away with. You want to know why your father seems to hate you so much." She met his gaze calmly, "It's because you, more than your brother Daria, remind him of the Old God of the Sky and Sea."

Lian cursed under his breath, "But I didn't ask for that!"

Lucy nodded, "I know. It's not your fault. You're just fine the way you are." She smiled at him, "You don't need to change, Friend."

"But I hate it!" Lian insisted, "I hate having to pay for everything! I look sideways at the ocean and suddenly I'm hiding bruises or worse from my mother so that she doesn't worry!" He studied Lucy almost desperately, "Why is the ocean cursed?"

"It isn't," Lucy answered, "Seth'ius's stories led people to believe they were. It was something created by the combined imaginations of people."

"So there's nothing wrong with it?!" Lian asked angrily.

"No," Lucy shook her head, "They aren't."

Lian held his head in his hands. "Are you kidding me?" he mumbled.

"It's okay you know," Lucy assured him.

Lian looked at her incredulously, "How?"

Lucy smiled. He looked and sounded almost exactly like Jace. She looked to his window, "Because things will be set right. And when they are you won't have to be in pain anymore. Mayu won't have to feel _their_ pain anymore."

"When though?" Lian asked, "Mayu said it's soon. But that could be anywhere from tomorrow to I might as well be dead!"

Lucy studied him calmly, "What do you think? You are connected to the oceans."

"No I'm not," Lian argued, "Father says-"

"What do you say?" Lucy interrupted, "You know yourself better than anyone else, Lian."

Lian looked at her uncertainly. He didn't know.

Lucy leaned forward, "Where did the dragon come from? Where did the sphinx come from?"

"I don't know!" Lian snapped defensively, "Father said they were water demons!"

Lucy straightened, "But you do know." She smiled, "I know you know, Lian.

Lian looked away from her, "But that means…that means that it's my fault they were destroyed."

Lucy touched his shoulder, "No. It's Seth'ius's fault they were destroyed. You gave them existence. You were not the one that took it away from them."

Lian studied his hands intently, "Is that what Mother was talking about? When she said not to let him pin the blame on me?"

Lucy nodded, "I do believe so. It's not going to be easy, Lian. You've spent your whole existence being told it was your fault. You're entrenched in that belief."

Lian covered his face with his hands, "But why?"

"I don't know," Lucy shook her head, "I've long since given up on trying to rationalize Seth'ius's actions."

Lian looked at her, "If everything is my fault because I'm too much like him, then what about him?"

Lucy shrugged, "What do you think?"

"I don't know," Lian insisted, "I didn't know him."

Lucy nodded, "But you know yourself. Lian, I'm not going to tell you what to believe." She shook her head, "You've had enough of that in your life. What do you think is the truth?"

"But what if I'm wrong?!" Lian demanded.

Lucy studied him for a moment, "Being wrong is all relative. No matter which choice you make people will tell you you are wrong. If you are doing what you believe to be right, then you have done nothing wrong."

"But there's a morality to it isn't there?" Lian asked, "If people are hurting then whatever is going on is wrong, right? If innocent people are dying then whoever is responsible for it is wrong, right?"

Lucy smiled, "Unfortunately I am not a goddess of morality. I simple watch over those making difficult decisions, those in difficult places. And I watch over everyone while they sleep."

"So...you can't answer my question?" His eyes narrowed, "Or you aren't going to?"

Lucy shrugged, "However you would like to see it." She flickered out and disappeared.

"Lucy!" Lian got to his feet. He looked around his room and scowled. He flopped back onto his bed, "That was so unhelpful."


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

" _Stop holding back, Daria!" Seth'ius commanded._

 _Daria glanced at his father. He picked up his pace._

 _Kala barely managed to get out of the way of his oldest brother's attacks. He stumbled and fell backwards. He barely managed to get his arms in front of his face to block a downward swipe from Daria. He screamed in pain as Daria's sword cut down his arm. In half a second his arm was covered in blood. It flowed freely down his arm, running onto the ground and into his lap._

" _That's good!" Seth'ius called._

 _Daria stepped back, "Are-Are you alright-"_

" _Daria," Seth'ius interrupted._

 _Daria turned and snapped to attention, "Yes Father?"_

" _You did well," Seth'ius nodded approvingly, "You can go."_

 _Daria nodded, "Yes Father." He hovered for a moment and looked at Kala, "Ca-"_

" _Go," Seth'ius commanded firmly._

 _Daria nodded and lowered his gaze, "Yes Father." He turned on his heel and strode away._

 _Seth'ius knelt down in front of Kala and grabbed his arm._

 _Kala cried out in pain._

" _Hm," Seth'ius scoffed, "I can see the bone." He dug his fingers into the wound. The metal of the gauntlet that covered the tips of his fingers dug into the boy's flesh._

 _Kala gasped. Tears ran down his face. His voice was high pitched with pain, "Ow! Father! Please stop!"_

" _This never would've happened if you had been able to get out of the way. Either you need to be faster or you need to find a work around," Seth'ius growled, "I won't always be available to call a fight to a close. And someone that isn't family will be ruthless. They will show you no mercy." Seth'ius pulled Kala to his feet by his injured arm, ignoring the high pitched scream of pain it elicited, "I expect you to be faster by your next training session. Go to your mother." He let go of Kala's arm and shoved him in the direction he needed to be going._

 _Kala stumbled and almost fell. He pulled his arm to his chest. It was starting to go numb. His head was beginning to spin._

 _Mayu jogged up to him as he walked around a corner, "Kala!" She didn't hesitate when she saw him. Instantly she put her arm around his shoulders to support him. She helped him to their mother._

 _Nissa studied his arm as the wound slowly closed, "I can close the wound but I can't fully repair a lot of the damage that has been done." She looked at Kala with sympathy, "You're going to have to learn to do things with your right hand. Daria severed tendons in that hit. You're left hand isn't ever going to be strong enough to do much of anything, Kala. I'm sorry."_

 _Kala stared at her in horror and fear, "But Father said I needed to be faster before the next training session! I'm going to be in trouble if-"_

 _Nissa put her hand on his cheek, "Kala, I'll deal with your father. For now, just focus on learning to work with your other hand."_

 _Kala bit his tongue and nodded._

" _I'll help you," Mayu offered instantly, "I'm right hand dominant."_

 _Nissa nodded, "Get him to his room."_

 _Mayu helped Kala to his feet, being careful of his left arm. An ugly scar stretched from between his pointer finger and thumb all the way down to his elbow. She kept her arm wrapped around his shoulder as she led him away._

 _Nissa's face hardened and she went searching for Seth'ius. She confronted him in the palace library, "Congratulations, Seth'ius. Kala can no longer use his left hand."_

" _He needed to learn," Seth'ius responded callously._

 _Nissa's eyes narrowed angrily, "You are not to train with him again until he learns to use his right hand."_

" _You don't give me orders, Elf."_

 _Nissa met his gaze evenly, "I do now. You are not to train with him." She turned and stalked away._

Kala stood in front of his window, watching Kala train with Tasha in the courtyard. His glove and gauntlets sat on the windowsill in front of him. He ran his right hand absently over the scar. It was just as prominent as it had been one hundred thousand years ago.

He grimaced as he slowly clenched and unclenched his left hand. After two repeats of the motion he let it relax. He sighed in frustration, "One hundred thousand years and that's all I can do with it." He put his glove on but left his gauntlets where they were.

Lian lifted his head off of his desk when someone knocked on the door. He looked at the door in confusion. His twenty five days weren't up yet. "Yes?"

"Um..."

"Kala?" Lian whispered to himself. He walked up to the door and stood in front of it.

"I guess I...I just wanted to check in. Make sure you were doing okay, Mii'lian," Kala said, "We are family after all.

Lian nodded, "I'm fine, Kala. It's nothing I'm not used to."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," Kala whispered, looking down at his arm. He cleared his throat, "Alright. Good." He turned and walked away. He had no intention of getting in trouble for interacting with Lian before his twenty five day isolation was up.

Lian stared at the door for a minute, "I guess. But you get used to the pain after a while." He knew Kala was gone. He'd heard him walk away. No point in getting in trouble after all. He glanced at his fox, "Kala would probably know better than anybody else, huh?"

The fox nodded.

Lian stared at it. He knelt down in front of it, "Loc is the one that talks to animals. And yet you keep nodding at me."

The fox barked at him, jumped up onto his bed, and curled up for a nap.

Lian stood and stared after it. He pouted and crossed his hands over his chest, "Oh fine. I see how it is."

The fox yawned.

Lian sighed, "Fine."

Halfway through his twenty five days he was starting to feel antsy. He paced around his room, tapping his legs. He'd left the clips out of his hair and it was sticking out in every direction. He ran his hands through his hair, shoving his bangs back away from his face. He really missed his hoodie, but it was gone.

Lian sighed and flopped onto his bed, "I'm going to go crazy. I gotta get out of this room somehow."

The fox looked at the window. It yawned and curled up on his pillow.

Lian looked from it to the window and back again. He rolled his eyes, "There are bars on my window, Buddy."

The fox studied him for a moment. It got to it's feet and walked into his closet.

Lian watched it in confusion as it pulled his backpack out of his closet. It fished through the backpack and pulled out a very old book. Lian's eyes widened and he rushed over.

The fox stepped aside and looked up at him expectantly.

Lian shook his head, "Are you crazy? The only thing that would get through those bars is an explosive spell. I'd blow a hole in the wall. And I'd be dead before I left the courtyard."

The fox scowled at him but it's face quickly cleared. It barked in a manner that sounded like fine and went back to his pillow.

Lian watched it stroll casually past him. He blinked a couple times. He sat down next to it, "Are you really a fox?" He leaned forward and studied it.

It studied him for a moment.

Lian started to sulk. He was finally going crazy. Why wouldn't the fox be a normal old fox?

"No."

Lian jumped and shrieked. He sat up quickly and watched it through wide surprised eyes.

"I am not really a fox."

He stared at it, "I-What-How-What is going on?" His eyes narrowed, "I'm going insane aren't I? The isolation is finally getting to me. After four hundred and eighty thousand years."

The fox watched him in amusement, "My name is Vadanya. You'll likely recognize me as the Old Goddess of War."

Lian's eyes widened, "W-War?"

Vadanya nodded, "Yes. I am the Oracle's sister." She stretched and trotted over to him, "I was banished like the rest of our family. However, a friend found a convenient loophole that allows me to be here as long as I remain in an animal form."

Lian blinked slowly, "So…?"

Vadanya sat down next to him and looked up at him, "I am simply here to protect you. However, once the seals break I will need to return to my sister."

"You've done a wonderful job so far," Lian muttered.

"As I recall you've held me back," Vadanya pointed out calmly.

"Why keep it a secret?" Lian asked accusingly, "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Vadanya met his gaze, "Because if Seth'ius found out I am here then both of us would be dead in a heartbeat. Only your brother knows."

"Loc?" Lian asked.

Vadanya nodded, "I swore him to secrecy. I told him that if he kept my secret I would tell him all I knew."

"Did you?" Lian asked.

Vadanya nodded again.

"Can you tell me?" Lian asked.

Vadanya studied him for a moment, "Personally I know only a little about what happened. I know that my brother was called away from Ravnica by Seth'ius-"

"Your brother?" Lian repeated in confusion.

Vadanya nodded, "The Guildpact."

Lian stared at her, " _He's_ your brother?!"

Vadanya sighed, "Yes."

Lian paused, "Sorry. Go ahead and continue."

"My brother was called away by Seth'ius. I haven't seen him since then. But he asked that we stay on Ravnica. To look after it if he didn't return. The others went to find him and I didn't seem them after that. Seth'ius attempted to kidnap the Oracle and I beat him into a stale mate. Despite that, I am not strong enough to defeat him. The Oracle agreed to lead him down the right path as long as he left our family untouched. He turned us all into deities and banished us from this world."

"So...which friend found the loop hole?" Lian asked.

"Ral Zarek," Vadanya answered simply.

"Ral?!" Lian squeaked in surprise.

Vadanya nodded, "Yes."

Lian ran his hands through his hair, "How?"

Vadanya watched Lian with her head tilted to the side, "You'd be amazed what determination can do, Lian. It took him all the time you were alone before we met to find it."

"But that's a few thousand years?" Lian's mind was blown.

Vadanya nodded, "Yes. Yes it is."

Lian looked at Vadanya, "So...why are you protecting me?"

"You're the wild card," Vadanya shrugged.

"Wild card?" Lian repeated.

Vadanya nodded again. She sighed, "Yes. The wild card. You could swing either way, as long as you survive long enough."

"My life is really in that much danger?" Lian asked fearfully.

"Lucy told you," Vadanya explained, "You remind Seth'ius too much of Jace. He couldn't kill Jace and keep the multiverse intact. He can kill you and little damage would be done in the long term."

"What am I supposed to do?"

Vadanya shrugged, "You can do whatever you want. It's not my job to tell you what to do. I'm simply here to protect you, whatever choice you make."

"Why are you guys so unhelpful?!" Lian demanded.

Vadanya touched his arm with her nose, "Lian." She pulled away and looked up at him, "We aren't going to tell you what to believe. We would never try to control you. You've spent your whole life being controlled. Told what to do. Told what to believe. You've never had a choice."

Lian stared at her, his anger subsiding. He was confused. He didn't know what to believe. He didn't know what to do. Truthfully he wanted them to tell him. Tell him which side he was supposed to be on. Tell him what he had to do so he could just get it over with.

"Whatever choice you make, I will protect you," Vadanya promised.

"Even if I make the wrong choice?" Lian asked nervously.

Vadanya nodded, "Even if you make the wrong choice."


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Lian flipped absentmindedly through the pages of his father's version of the story. He was in the library. His twenty five days were up.

Vadanya stood next to him, still a fox.

Lian had stopped counting the amount of times this story was brought up in any and every one of his classes. Kids would always talk about how their mothers had read the book to them when they were little and the know the whole thing by heart.

Nissa had never read the book to them. It sat on the bookshelf. They had all read it of course, in school. And everyone knew the story whether they'd read it or not.

The illustrations of Jace were moderately terrifying. He was drawn to be very snakelike in general. He was slender, perhaps to the point of being unhealthy, and his limbs were slightly unnaturally long. His pupils were thin lines and his irises took up his entire eye. His hair was also much longer in the illustrations and braided. The clothing he wore was much darker, mostly black with some dark blue and grey accents.

"I've never actually seen you look through that book," Seth'ius commented.

Lian stiffened. He swallowed, "I...wanted to see the pictures I always heard everyone talking about." He turned around with his head cocked to the side, "Is it true that Mother drew these?"

Seth'ius nodded. He studied Lian for a moment. "Let's hope you find the story enlightening, since you seem unwilling to listen to all of the warnings I have attempted to give you," he said darkly after a moment.

Lian lowered his gaze, "Yes Father."

Vadanya growled.

Seth'ius turned and walked away.

Lian sat down next to Vadanya, "You really don't like him."

"He tried to kidnap my sister and he locked my brother at the bottom of the ocean," Vadanya commented dryly.

Lian nodded. He watched the door to the library swing closed.

Kayla trotted in a second later, without Tasha.

Lian got to his feet and watched her skip up to him, "Where's Tasha?"

"She's helping Kala," Kayla explained, "Father said I couldn't go with because of what happened last time."

"Father?" Lian repeated.

Kayla nodded, "Yep!"

"But I thought..." He stared at Kayla, "Didn't you used to call him...Daddy?"

Kayla shrugged, "That was before."

"Before what?" Lian asked.

Kayla studied him for a moment. She glanced at the fox. She shrugged, "Before I went to the bottom of the ocean with you."

"And you freaked out-" Lian's eyes widened. He looked at Vadanya, "Wait a second!?"

Kayla cocked her head to the side curiously, "What?"

Lian returned his gaze to her. He studied her long and hard, "Who lied?"

Kayla grinned darkly. She leaned closer to Lian, "Daddy lied."

Lian leaned away from her slightly, "About…?"

"Everything," Kayla shrugged. She jumped around in a tight circle, "But Jace said not to tell anyone because otherwise Father would kill me."

Lian stared at her in surprise, "But you're his favorite."

Kayla stopped and fixed Lian with a deadly serious stare, "The corrupted get no mercy. No remorse. No justice. They are no longer human. And the only release for them is death. And by destroying them you are saving them from the darkness that has consumed their soul."

Lian shuddered. He remembered their father telling that to all of them. Over. And over. And over. "Until it was second nature," he whispered.

Kayla looked up from where she was kneeling down in front of Vadanya.

Lian looked at her in surprise, "You were just-"

"You weren't paying attention. You were in your head so I thought I'd leave you to it," Kayla jumped up, almost headbutting him in the chin.

Lian nodded, "Oh." He ran his hands through his hair, "Okay. So if… Father lied… about everything… what do we do?"

Kayla shrugged, "We don't do anything." She looked at Lian, "If you disappear, it's normal. If one of us is with you, it's a crime."

"A crime?" Lian repeated.

Kayla nodded, "Father never outright says it, but we're not allowed to be with you. At all. Anywhere. He thinks your connection to the sea will corrupt us." She studied Lian, "You're a _threat_. Not a tool like the rest of us."

"A tool?!" Lian repeated.

Kayla nodded again, "Why do you think we've all had to train since we could walk? Why do you think Aria doesn't talk unless he's spoken to? Why do you think Tasha is with me everywhere I go? Why do you think Daria is always the one to find you?" She lowered her gaze, "We're all tools. Weapons to be pointed at the Old Gods when the seals break."

"And how do you know all of this?" Lian asked.

Kayla walked very close to him and whispered, "I'm a telepath."

Lian's breath caught in his throat. He coughed, "You...are?"

Kayla nodded, "He's been teaching me. It's all there. In Father's head. Every lie he's ever told. And every wound he's ever caused." She paused, "There are other things in his head too. Darker things. Terrifying." She looked at Lian almost curiously, "I don't think Father is okay. Something is wrong with him. He was experimented on. By this man with a freaky arm. But there's no helping him now. The damage done to Father is irreversible."

Lian glanced at Vadanya.

She nodded, "Whatever choice you make, I will protect you."

Lian looked back at Kayla, "Do you know how long it is until the seals break? Did he tell you?"

Kayla shook her head, "He doesn't have a specific time estimate. He said a few months. Maybe a year. And then it all comes crashing down."

Lian cursed. "If I disappear, it's normal. If one of you is with me, it's a crime," he mumbled. He chewed his lower lip, "I am so dead. I might as well throw myself in the ocean to be locked away." He patted Kayla's head, "Sit tight. I'll be back...whenever I'm back." He stepped around her to leave.

Kayla's eyes narrowed, "You aren't expecting to be back." She turned to face him.

Lian swallowed guiltily. He lowered his head. After the silence stretched on to the point it was uncomfortable he turned back to her with sadness in his eyes, "No. I'm not." He left the library.

Vadanya put her nose against Kayla's leg, "I'll make sure he comes back."

"Thanks, Danya," Kayla leaned down and petted her.

Vadanya raced out of the library, after Lian. She found him in his room shoving some of the old books on magic she had helped Lucy smuggle to him into his backpack. She trotted up to him and sat on one of the books.

"Hey!" Lian pouted at her.

Vadanya stared into his eyes, "If Jace's time estimate is a few months to a year, I'm not going to be here much longer. I will have to leave."

"You-that's right. You said that didn't you?"

Vadanya nodded. She got to her feet and got very close to his face, "Promise me something, Arkos'mii'lian."

Lian's eyes widened in surprise at his full name. He swallowed, "Yeah?"

"Promise me you will return to your sister," Vadanya demanded, "If you do not promise me that, with every intention of keeping it, then I will not let you leave."

"I thought you said you didn't care what choice I made!" Lian snapped.

Vadanya nodded, "I don't. But your siblings need you. More than anything else in this multiverse. They need someone with real knowledge of worlds outside this one. Because when all of this falls through, they will need somewhere to go."

"They won't be able to stay here?" Lian asked.

Vadanya shook her head, "I highly doubt it. As far as I know this world is held together by Seth'ius's very existence. If he were to die in the conflict that will follow the seals breaking then the world will fall apart."

Lian stared at her, "So everyone here will die?"

Vadanya shook her head again, "Honestly? I do not know. I do know that I can't promise the world will survive Seth'ius's destruction."

Lian sat back and held his head in his hands, "Is it impossible to avoid killing people?!"

Vadanya hopped off the book and sat next to him, "I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, people will die no matter what you choose."

Lian gritted his teeth, "I've already caused too many deaths. I don't want any more blood on my hands. What am I supposed to do?"

Vadanya touched his arm.

Lian looked at her.

"I will protect you no matter what choice you make," she promised.

"But you're leaving! You're going to leave!"

Vadanya nodded, "Unfortunately, I will have to. Seth'ius's banishment won't allow me to stay much longer."

"Will it somehow get stronger when the seals break?" Lian asked.

Vadanya nodded, "It's designed that way, yes. So that those of us outside of the world cannot intervene in the battle that will follow."

"So they're easier to defeat?" Lian asked coldly.

Vadanya nodded, "Yes."

"It's not fair," Lian snapped, "Did he just tip the scales in his favor to start off with? The five of them weren't able to beat him last time!"

"They weren't gods last time," Vadanya said calmly.

Lian looked at her in surprise, "They weren't?"

Vadanya shook her head, "They were just planeswalkers. And most of the Old Deities were just normal sentient beings we were before given the power we have now."

Lian cocked his head to the side, "So they could stand a chance this time?"

"A better chance at least," Vadanya nodded.

Lian's eyes widened suddenly, "Wait...you beat my father...into a _stale mate_ when he was a god and you were just...a...a normal sentient BEING?!"

Vadanya shook her head, "Not quite. It's a long story that I can tell you when this is all over."

Lian deflated, "Oh yeah." He looked at her, "What am I supposed to do? I don't want anybody to die."

Vadanya nodded sympathetically, "I know. You can only make the choice you think will cause the least amount of pain in the end."

"In the end?" Lian asked uncertainly.

Vadanya nodded.

Lian stared at his hands. After a long internal debate he took a deep breath, "I'm going." He didn't sound as resolute as he had wanted. His voice shook and he mostly just sounded scared.

Vadanya nodded, "Very well. Promise me you'll come back."

Lian studied her, "I will."


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Lian looked around uneasily. He stood at the base of the mountain. He had nothing but what would fit in his backpack. Vadanya stood next to him.

Lian glanced at her, "Are you gonna be okay with Flare, while I go talk to your brother?"

Vadanya nodded, "I can't breathe underwater, Lian."

"But I can make you an air bubble," Lian insisted.

Vadanya looked up at him, "I'll be alright."

Lian looked around, "What if my father comes?"

"He won't come into the mountain looking for you," Vadanya assured him, "He'll look in the ocean first."

Lian nodded tensely, "Okay." He looked around again, "Where's the entrance to Flare's caves?"

Vadanya shook her head, "I have no idea. I just know that Flare lives in this mountain."

Lian sighed. He wandered around the side of the mountain.

After another two days of searching he finally found the entrance to the cave, craftily hidden away in a waterfall.

Vadanya growled, "Dammit. I had to get wet after all."

Lian laughed, "That's why you wanted to stay in the mountain?"

Vadanya gave him a deadpan look, "You try waiting for fur to dry. _Then_ you can laugh."

"Sorry," Lian apologized, despite the fact that he was still smirking. He stiffened when a loud scraping noise echoed down the tunnel to them. He swallowed nervously and continued on.

The tunnel opened up to a broad cavern, lit with an ambient orange glow that didn't seem to be coming from anywhere. The outer edges of the cavern across from them were not clearly visible to them. The Cavern itself had a few piles of treasure and random bits and bobs but was mostly filled with the large body of a dragon. It's scales shone like fire in the light.

Lian whistled, "Wow." He looked around in awe, "I don't think I've ever seen a cave so big."

"And there's more," Vadanya nodded in the direction of the wall of the cavern next to them. Three dark holes led to other parts of the cave complex.

The dragon lifted it's head and studied them. The dragon took human form. A young woman with short hot pink hair and brass colored eyes. Her skin had patches of red scales and her nails were red. She had a black leather jacket and black ankle boots. Her dress was bright orange and looked like it literally encased flowing lava.

She looked at Lian in surprise. But the surprise faded quickly, "You weren't who I thought you were." She walked closer and looked Lian over, "You certainly do look quite a bit like him though."

Lian cocked his head to the side, "O...kay?"

Flare laughed, "You sound like him too." She stepped back and looked him over again curiously, "What can I do for you, Little Human?"

"Well, I-I was just wondering...I was wondering if you would look after," He looked down at Vadanya, "Um...the fox here." He looked back to Flare.

Flare smiled, "I'd be more than happy to."

Lian relaxed, "Thanks. I'll be back in a bit."

Flare nodded, "Good luck to you, Little Human. I have a feeling you'll need it."

Lian chuckled nervously and shrugged, "Who knows?" He hugged Vadanya and then left back the way he had come. He looked around, "Now I guess I go to the bottom of the ocean again." He made his way back to the beach but made sure to stay within the forest until there wasn't any of it left. He raced across the sand and into the water.

The moment he touched the water the ocean leaped to life. It dragged him in and swallowed him whole. The water propelled him to where he wanted to go.

Lian was not used to it answering him like this but he also wasn't going to complain. It certainly made his job easier.

Just like the last time he'd been in the water, his way seem to be illuminated with a gentle white-blue light.

Eventually he returned to the circular structure of of stone slabs. Lian set his feet on the ocean floor and jogged over to where Jace laid, under his seal. The seal was much different from the last time he had seen it. Jace was still wrapped in golden chains.

Lian knelt down and touched the chains. He pulled away quickly, "Ow!" The chains' magical energy was burning hot and numbing. Very different from the gentle tingling he was used to. He shook his hand out, "Fine."

He touched the seal. The magical energy was powerful, crashing over him like a wave. But after the initial shock it was gentle, like a cool day, or a soft breeze, or the gentle lapping of a calm ocean on the sand.

Lian pulled away, "They're different energies. Different spells." He glanced back down at the chains, "Even when the seal breaks, the chains will still be here." His face hardened with determination, "I need Spell Breaker."

He commanded the water to propel him to the surface. He climbed out on the beach and sprinted back into the trees. Once he was deep enough into the forest that he would be safe, even if only momentarily. He closed his eyes and envisioned Ral's house in his head. "Please work. Please work. Please work," he whispered to himself. He felt the ground fall out from under him. His eyes flew opened and he screamed.

Lian landed on Ral's roof and tumbled off it, yelping as he did so. He hit the ground on his back and groaned. He cursed and sat up, "I'm getting sick of falling out of the sky!" He got to his feet, stumbled sideways, and returned to stand in front of Ral's door.

Lian swallowed and stared at Ral's door, "Please answer. Please don't be angry with me." He held his hand up to knock on the door but hesitated. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. He pounded on the door, "Ral!"

The door flew open. Ral stood in front of him, staring at him in surprise, "Water Boy." He grinned, "You're alright!"

Lian swallowed again, "Um...sorry for pounding on your door. I-I um-I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me again. After...what happened."

"Of course I'd want to see you again!" Ral insisted, "I'm just glad you're alright. What's up?"

"I was wondering if you had Spell Breaker. Ravnica is the last place I remember having it so…?" Lian studied Ral hopefully.

"Of course I do," Ral nodded, "C'mon in."

Lian walked in and leaned against the table. There wasn't anywhere to sit. The house was more of a mess than the last time he had seen it. He glanced at Ral, "Do you ever clean your house?"

"I do sometimes," Ral shrugged, "No real reason to. I'm rarely ever not working."

Lian shrugged, "Okay."

Ral grabbed something for the two of them to drink, "Not that I mind the unexpected company but what are you doing here, Water Boy?"

Lian took a deep breath. "Well. Jace is held to the bottom of the ocean with chains," he explained, "and the chains are separate from the seal. So the seal will break, but if those chains are still there he won't be able to get free automatically." He lowered his gaze and studied the ground. He looked back to Ral and calmly declared, "I'm going to destroy the chains."

Ral's eyes widened. He grinned broadly, "Well then. You're going to need a little bit more than just Spell Breaker." He excitedly led Lian into the back of the house.

Lian followed him curiously, "I'm gonna need more than just Spell Breaker?"

Ral nodded, "Think of it this way, Water Boy." He dropped a gun-like weapon into Lian's arms, "You've officially sided against your father. And now that you have, he's not going to hold back when he tries to destroy you." There was a rotating revolver section that contained cartridges. The cartridges would be pulled out and pushed in when they lined up with the side of the gun.

Lian nodded, "Oh yeah." He pulled one of the cartridges out and looked it over, "There are three sections of it?"

Ral nodded, "This thing shoots off spells." He turned and rummaged through a pile of random projects, some completed, some half done. He glanced at Lian over his shoulder, "Each cartridge holds a specific type of spell. Each section holds a specific spell." He pulled out a belt that had a side pouch on either side of it, "Here it is!" He handed it to Lian, "Basically, you replace the cartridges, put them into one of these two pouches. The cartridge will recharge. You activate one section of the cartridge with a handful of these keys." Ral pulled up a panel just beneath the revolver section of the gun, "And you can shoot off fireballs or magical nets that'll block off someone else's access to Mana. And pretty much everything in between."

Lian whistled, "Wow."

"Probably not powerful enough to have any real effect on your father," Ral admitted, "But at the very least it'll buy you enough time to get away."

Lian nodded, "Yep!" He cocked his head to the side, "Vadanya said you were her friend?"

Ral laughed, "You could say that. Yeah." He patted Lian's shoulder, "Long story, Water Boy. I'll tell it to you when you come back."

Ral led Lian out of the room and picked Spell Breaker up off the table, "I turned it into a bracer. That way you can't drop it again." He handed it to Lian.

Lian nodded, "What happens if it gets damaged?"

"You can fix it," Ral responded simply, "You made it in the first place."

Lian looked at Ral uncertainly, "Okay." He put the bracer on to his right arm.

Ral nodded, "That's the spirit. C'mon, Water Boy. Let's go outside and fire that thing off a couple of times. So you can get the hang of it."

Lian nodded, "Okay." He followed Ral outside.

Ral taught him how to load the cartridges and how to activate the spells. Ral also shows him the laser point and the scope. The laser was invisible to anyone that wasn't looking through the scope. Lian was also warned there was a small chance the gun could explode so he wanted to watch it's temperature. If the outside of the gun started to feel warm then it needed to be put away.

"It can be a...bit volatile," Ral shrugged apologetically.

Lian grinned, "That's nothing new."

Ral smiled at him, "Alright. You're all set, Water Boy. Enjoy your adventure. Tell me all about it when you get back."

Lian hesitated but nodded, "I will!"


	29. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Lian activated Spell Breaker manually and touched the golden chains. He hissed through gritted teeth. It was burning his fingers but he needed to stay in contact in order to break the spell.

Around a minute later the chains shattered like glass.

Lian gasped and quickly pulled his hand away. He gently rubbed the tips his fingers, "Ow." He turned to leave.

 _Lian._

Lian froze. He slowly turned back to Jace. He swallowed uneasily, "Yes?"

 _I need help. But Seth'ius isn't going to like it. You don't have to agree if you don't want to. I'm not going to force you to help me._

Lian lowered his gaze, "Would-Would you be able to protect Ravnica if I help you?"

 _I will._

Lian nodded, his uncertainty gradually fading, "What about everyone else in the multiverse?"

 _I'll make sure Seth'ius can't hurt anyone again._

Lian nodded solemnly, "I'll do it. What do you need?"

 _I need you to weaken the other seals. I'm not going to have time when my seal breaks to get to them individually. I have to break the seals all at once but I can't do that the way the seals are now._

Lian looked around, "So...take Spell Breaker, and weaken the seals? But I'll have to find them first."

 _You have a couple of months at most._

Lian chewed his lower lip, "O-Okay. I can do it."

 _Once you weaken Chandra's seal you'll have to go to the other continent._

"Other continent?" Lian repeated, "But I thought...I thought there was just this one."

 _Right. There's another one. Go take care of Chandra's seal. I'll reach out to you once that's done._

Lian nodded, "Okay. She's in the mountain right?"

 _Yes. Flare can take you to her. Be sure to ask nicely._

"Ask nicely?" Lian chuckled, "Oh yeah. Dragon."

 _Thank you, Lian._

Lian's eyes widened in surprise. He stumbled over accepting Jace's gratitude but gave up on the third attempt. He lowered his head and turned away, embarrassed. The ocean swept him back up to the surface, and left him on the beach. Lian darted into the trees to the waterfall. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the pool and walked in.

"Flare! Do you-" Lian stopped dead when he saw the dragon.

Flare's human form was male now. He was lithely built and wearing the black leather jacket, unzipped, over a moderately tight ash colored shirt. His skinny jeans were black with bright red and orange flames running along the outsides of his legs. He wore loosely tied grey combat boots. He had a red beanie on. It looked as though his hair was made of individual strands of real gold. His eyes were a warm amber.

Lian's brain felt scrambled. After many failed attempts at talking he finally spit out, "Weren't you a girl last time?!"

Flare shrugged, "I like to change it up. Sometimes I'm a girl. Sometimes I'm a boy."

Lian nodded slowly, "Okay. Okay. That makes sense." He shook his head roughly, "Can-I just-Where's Vadanya?" He cocked his head to the side curiously, "Also...what do I refer to you as? If you're sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl? Is it just...they?"

Flare nodded, "They works." They smirked, "You can also just call me by my name." They jerked their head to the side, "Vadanya's over here."

Lian followed Flare silently. He kept his gaze focused on the ground, ignoring the fact his face felt hot and he was probably the most red he'd ever been.

"You're ears are red, Little Human," Flare commented as though they could read Lian's mind.

Lian squeaked and covered his face with his hands.

"Lian."

Lian looked up and smiled, "Vadanya!" He jogged over to where she sat with her paws tucked under her and sat down next to her.

"How'd it go?" Vadanya asked immediately.

"Your brother wants me to weaken the seals of the others so that he can break them without having to go to them individually," Lian explained.

"Did you agree?" Vadanya asked.

Lian nodded, "Yeah." He chewed his lower lip and picked at his fingers, "He said I had a couple months at most to do it. But I don't know where the seals are."

"One of them is in this mountain," Vadanya reminded him, "Which is a starting point."

"Oh yeah." Lian looked up at Flare, "Can I see Chandra's seal?"

Flare studied him silently long enough that he started to get uncomfortable.

Lian swallowed nervously.

Flare nodded, "You can." They turned and walked away.

Lian scrambled to his feet and trotted after them.

Flare smirked, "Try not to evaporate when we get down there." They waved their hand in front of a large boulder. The entire cavern shook as the rock rolled to the side.

"Is that a joke?" Lian asked in confusion.

Flare nodded, "Yes. It's a joke."

Lian was still confused, "Is it because I'm the God of the Sea?"

Flare nodded again, "Yes. Yes it is, Little Human."

Lian thought on it for a moment before he chuckled, "Okay. Got it. I get it."

Flare waved their hand again and the boulder returned to it's original position, trenching them in darkness. They led Lian and Vadanya down the tunnel. The tunnel had a noticeable downward slope. The loose pebbles strewn all over the ground made it dangerous.

The trio picked their way through the tunnel for what seemed like eternity. One side of the tunnel dropped off abruptly opening it to a chasm. The bottom of the chasm was visible only because it glowed red. Towering stalagmites rose like spires. Many went higher than the ledge that they stood on. The ledge wrapped around the edge of the cavern, spiraling down into the abyss below.

Lian gulped, "We have to walk along a ledge all the way down?"

Flare grinned, "You could jump onto my back and we could dive straight down if you would rather."

Lian stared at them like they'd lost their mind, "Um...no. I'm good. I'll walk on the ledge. Thanks." He carefully made his way further along the ledge, ignoring the disappointed sigh he got from the dragon.

The closer he got to the bottom of the cavern the warmer it got. The ledge got thinner until he was sliding along it, practically hugging the wall. Lian stubbornly refused to change his mind. He had decided on the ledge. He was taking it all the way down.

Lian jumped down from the ledge the last couple feet to the ground, a silly triumphant grin plastered on his face.

Vadanya and Flare landed next to him a moment later.

In front of them was a wall that would be invisible, were it not for the white streams that flowed through it. Lava pressed at the wall, desperately wanting freedom.

Lian activated Spell Breaker and walked up to the wall without hesitating.

"Lian be careful," Vadanya urged.

Lian nodded, "I will." He reached out and touched the wall.

In an instant a bright flaming seal appeared centered on his hand.

Chaotic images filled his mind. A light beam came towards him but a shadow passed between it and him. He couldn't make a sound but a scream echoed in his mind. Suddenly he was walking through a forest only to be approached by his mother. He smiled, "Moth-" She shrieked as she was consumed by flames. The shriek became chilling and he realized that hadn't really been his mother. The fire died. The creature was birdlike with wings instead of arms and long talons on it's feet. A blood curdling scream echoed through his head and the entire forest turned to ash in a blistering wave of flames. Guilt and fear and terrifyingly strong cold anger threatened to suffocate him.

Three words repeated in his head over and over again, in a woman's voice that he didn't recognize. _Destroy them all. Destroy them all. Destroy them all._

Lian gasped and dropped to his knees.

 _Show no mercy. They will show me none._

"Lian," Vadanya bounded over to him, "Are you alright?"

Lian nodded, "Y-Yeah. I think so?" He looked up at the seal, it was still visible where he had touched the wall. But there were gaping holes in it. He turned to Vadanya, "Who's voice was that?"

"I didn't hear a voice," Vadanya admitted.

Lian swallowed audibly, "It-It was a woman's voice. She was...angry. Very angry."

Vadanya looked at Flare, "It might've been Chandra."

"Destroy them all," Lian whispered, "Show no mercy. They will show me none."

Vadanya's head whipped around so she was looking at him. She was instantly concerned, "What?"

"That's what she said. Thought? That's what I heard," Lian explained.

Vadanya and Flare exchanged glances.

Vadanya nudged his arm with her nose, "Can you stand?"

Lian nodded, "Yeah." He got unsteadily to his feet. He looked at the seal again, "It happened when I touched his. It's how I made it to Ravnica. I saw it when I touched your brother's seal."

"Did he say anything to you?" Vadanya asked.

"Not...really. Not like this. He told me to take my sister up to the beach when she freaked out," Lian explained.

Vadanya nodded, "She told me about that."

Flare picked Lian and Vadanya up, "We'll fly out. In this state you won't survive the ledge, Little Human." They leaped into the air without waiting for an agreement.

Lian yelped in surprise.

Flare landed on the ledge a few moments later and set their two companions down on the ground.

Vadanya shook herself out, "That was...unexpected."

Lian looked down into the chasm, "I...I hope she's alright." He turned and made his way back through the tunnel without waiting for a response. He had a feeling they would tell him she would be fine when this was all over. And he was sick of hearing that.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Elf," Seth'ius stalked up to Nissa threateningly, "Where is Mii'lian?"

"I have no idea," Nissa responded calmly. She studied Seth'ius intensely, "He could be anywhere by now. It's been over a week hasn't it?"

Seth'ius snarled, "You don't sleep, how could you have not seen him?"

"This is a very large building, Seth'ius, and an even larger city," Nissa explained simply, like she was explaining it to an idiot, "One set of eyes cannot keep watch over everything that goes on."

"You will help search or-"

"I will not," Nissa interrupted calmly, "I will remain here to look after the other children while you search." She watched his face contort with rage in mild amusement, "After all, you don't want them to go after him and get corrupted. Do you?"

Seth'ius clenched his jaw. He turned, without a word, and stormed away.

"Father!" Daria jogged up.

Seth'ius shook his head, "Not this time Daria'lis. I will find your brother on my own. The danger is too great this time."

"But Father, you said-"

"Silence, Shara'daria'lis," Seth'ius commanded cruelly, "You are _not_ coming along. Your idiot brother knows full well what the consequences of his actions will be. You need not concern yourself with this."

Daria's eyes widened. His jaw clicked shut and he lowered his gaze, "Yes, Father. I apologize."

Seth'ius shoved past him and left the palace.

Kayla watched her father stride across the courtyard. She looked up at Tasha, "Lian's in trouble isn't he?"

Tasha nodded, "I believe so yes."

"Will he survive?" Kayla asked.

Tasha hesitated. She smiled at Kayla, "Of course he will. Father wouldn't kill him. We are family after all."

Kayla studied her sister's face, wanting to believe her. And yet she knew that Tasha didn't believe her own words. She smiled, "Okay!"

Tasha nodded, "Let's get some training in today, yeah?"

Kayla nodded, "Sure, Tash."

Nissa smirked in satisfaction, "That's what I thought."

 _Lian, you're going to need a boat._

"A boat?!" Lian repeated, "Why do I need a boat?"

 _No. I'm lying to you._ Jace sounded annoyed. _Yes. A boat. You're going to another continent._

"But I can breathe under water," Lian argued.

"Lian, you can't swim that far," Vadanya insisted.

Lian looked down at her, genuinely confused, "Why not?"

 _You'll exhaust yourself first and foremost. And you don't know how to tell that there is land nearby from under the water._

"Getting a boat means I'll have to go back to the city," Lian whispered. He glanced fearfully at the white wall that was clearly visible on the cliff, even from the within the forest.

Vadanya looked up at him, "I'll protect you. I beat him to a stale mate before."

Lian studied her. He glanced at the wall again.

 _Vadanya will be fine._

Lian mumbled, "I'm the god of the sea."

 _That just means you don't have to row the boat._

Lian scowled, "I'm starting to see why everyone always seemed so annoyed with me. This is frustrating." Most of what Jace said was sarcastic and unhelpful. What was helpful was very helpful but the rest of it was unnecessary.

 _You had to get your attitude from somewhere, because it certainly wasn't anybody you lived with._

Lian looked up at the sky, "We'll wait till nighttime. The streets will be empty. Everybody will be inside."

Vadanya nodded, "Sounds like a plan." She sat down and laid her head on her paws.

Jace and Lian continued to bicker in the meantime. Lian practiced deactivating, removing, replacing, and reactivating the cartridges in the gun.

When the sun was on the horizon Lian got to his feet. The sky was painted in shades of orange and red and pink. He watched as the ocean swallowed up the sun, "It's so pretty." The array of colors remained in the sky for a couple more minutes.

"Have you...seen a sunset before?" Vadanya asked as she stretched and got to her feet.

Lian shook his head, "It's bad luck to watch the sun set." He laughed, "But it's not like my luck could be any worse."

Vadanya nodded, "I always thought of the sunset as being a positive thing. There's no way something so beautiful could mean anything bad."

Lian looked out towards the horizon, "That is true."

The two of them made their way into the city stealthily. They had to get one of the boats out onto the beach in order to get it into the water. Usually that was a three person job.

Lian tossed his backpack into the boat. He studied it as he circled around it, "So..."

Vadanya hopped into it and followed him, "Yes?"

"If I split the levitation enchantment between both sides of the boat, then I should be able to just drag it to the beach just fine," Lian finished.

Unfortunately no boat in the city was designed for long distance water travel. They were designed to go out and come back in about thirty minutes total. Just long enough for desperate people to throw some coins into the ocean.

Lian grabbed an ink pen out of his backpack and circled the boat, drawing symbols on it. Once he was done the boat glowed softly and hovered a couple inches off the ground. Lian went to the back of it and started to push it forward. He grunted, "This thing is still heavy?!"

 _You didn't make it lighter. You just picked it up off the ground._

"You know what, Jace?" Lian snapped, "No one asked you for your royally unhelpful opinion on the matter."

Vadanya shook her head in amusement, "What'd he say?"

"He's being unhelpful," Lian grumbled.

"Isn't he always?" Vadanya asked mischievously.

 _Hey!_

Lian snickered. He straightened suddenly, "I have an idea!"

Vadanya looked up at him calmly, "I'm listening."

"I can use the boots as an extra boost," Lian grinned.

Vadanya nodded slowly, "Just-Just don't break the boat."

"I won't," Lian promised. He changed the way he was standing so the boots would register it as him wanting to jump. He pushed himself forward. The boots responded, launching him. He almost slammed the boat into a wall. He skidded sideways and stumbled.

Vadanya's ears flattened. Her claws scraped against the seat that she sat on, leaving marks. "Okay! Let's not do that again!"

Lian giggled, "Okay. Okay. I won't. I'll be gentler this time."

Vadanya growled softly, "Alright."

Lian managed to get them to the beach and got the boat into the water. He collapsed into it dramatically, panting, "Holy Light, that was hard."

Vadanya licked his cheek, "I'm sure it was." She sat up suddenly, her ears pricked, "Someone's coming."

Lian sat up.

Vadanya's eyes glowed deeply green and her form changed into that of a large black wolf. She had barely visible darker stripes in her fur. She bit the back of Lian's collar.

"Wha-Hey!" Lian squeaked as he was pulled farther into the boat.

"There you are, Mii'lian."

Lian froze. He sat up, "F-Father." He curled in on himself. His grip on the gun Ral had given him tightened. He had never seen his father look this angry. And the man was terrifying enough normally.

Vadanya snarled. She looked at Lian, "Go." She leaped off the boat, pushing it out into the water.

"Vadanya!" Lian cried. He clambered to the end of the boat.

The water started to move. It gently pulled him away from the beach.

Vadanya barreled into Seth'ius, knocking the man to the ground, purely through force. She bit at his throat.

Seth'ius managed to hold her back but couldn't get the proper hold to shove her off him.

Lian looked at the ever growing stretch of water between him and the sand of the beach. He could do it. He could go back to the beach and help her. But then he'd be stuck. He wouldn't be able to leave again without another boat. And if he went back it was unlikely he'd be able to get one. Seth'ius would drag him back to the Gods' Palace and make absolute sure he stayed there. But what if Vadanya _didn't_ _survive_? What if she didn't come back? What if he never got to hear the story she promised him because he didn't help her?

"Give up, Seth'ius," Vadanya commanded.

"You don't give me orders, abomination," Seth'ius snarled.

Vadanya's eyes flashed angrily. She snarled and bared her teeth. This time she caught some of his neck in her bite. Her teeth easily tore through the protective enchantment that kept him impervious to harm.

Seth'ius gritted his teeth and hit her in the side of the head. He wrestled her away from his neck and then tossed her aside. He put one hand on his neck and unsheathed his sword with the other.

Vadanya changed into her human form. A shockwave accompanied by a deep green light spread outward with her at the epicenter. Seth'ius fell backwards and skidded multiple feet away from her on his back. Lian's boat was pushed deeper into the ocean. A thousand armed and armored soldiers appeared. Vadanya looked down at Seth'ius, "Did you forget already? You made me the goddess of war." Her physical form was starting to disappear, but the soldiers stayed.

Lian's awe at her power quickly morphed into horror that she was disappearing. He leaned over the edge of the boat and his left hand slipped into the water. He scrambled back into the boat.

The soldiers she had summoned swarmed Seth'ius. He was easily more powerful than them but they had a numbers advantage. They drove him away from the beach. A bright flash of light was accompanied by a handful of screams. The clang of metal hitting metal rang through the air.

Vadanya looked at Lian over her shoulder and smiled. "Take care of yourself, Lian. I'm proud of you. But there's nothing more I can do for you now. I'm sorry," she whispered.

Lian saw her talking but couldn't hear her. He panicked, "You said you wouldn't go until the seals broke!" His voice cracked, "Vadanya! Don't go!" He reached out for her even as she disappeared completely from his view, "VADANYA!"


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Vadanya landed painfully on her side and rolled onto her back. The familiar soaring ceilings of a castle entrance hall rose above her. She winced and sat up. The hall was long and mostly empty, with a plum colored carpet running down the center of it to two empty golden thrones. The walls were dark grey stone and the doors on the other end of the hall were heavy iron. She sighed, "It's almost primitive."

"They kept it that way on purpose."

Vadanya turned in surprise.

Entering through one of the many doors along the wall was the Oracle, her younger sister. The girl wore a simple long white dress with golden trim on the bottom. Everything about her was pale, her platinum blond hair, her crystalline blue eyes, her porcelain skin.

Vadanya got to her feet, "I'm home early. Asshole decided he didn't want to give up."

The Oracle smiled warmly, "That's fine, Danya." Her gaze became distant and she looked towards the door. Her face was grave but her voice was expressionless as she said, "The end result is set in stone: Seth'ius will be destroyed. But what happens in the meantime is very unstable."

"Anything can happen?" Vadanya asked.

The Oracle nodded, "Yes. Anything. They could all survive. Or they could all die." She met her sister's worried gaze, "It's the danger of having a wild card."

 _Lian!_

Lian jumped. He scowled, "What do you want, Jace?" For three days he'd felt numb and empty. For three days he had been alone. For three days he'd spent his time practicing his aim by shooting at the water and the clouds in the sky.

 _You're alright. I couldn't reach you when your emotions got unstable._ Jace sounded relieved.

Lian sulked, "So what? I'm all alone now. How am I supposed to know what to do? Where to go? How am I supposed to know anything?"

 _Vadanya will be fine._

"But I'm not," Lian muttered.

 _You know, I'm not great at this comforting thing, Lian. For what it's worth, I'm sorry._

"If I'd gotten off the boat and helped her-"

 _You'd be dead._

Lian sighed, "Probably. Yeah." He shrugged indifferently, "Might as well be at this point, because I don't know what I'm doing. So it's not like I'll be able to help anyway!"

 _Lian, you'll do fine. Nobody knows what they're doing all the time. Hell, I don't know what I'm doing most of the time._

"And look where that got you," Lian snapped.

 _Oh good god._

The shadows of a smile crossed Lian's face, "Ral said that a lot."

 _Probably where I got it from._

Lian sighed, "How far away is this continent anyway?"

 _A week more of sitting in a boat. The ocean will drop you off in a kingdom that should be friendly to you as long as you make it very clear you are not an ally of Seth'ius._

Lian nodded, "Okay." He aimed his gun at a cloud on the horizon and fired off a fireball. A pillar of steam rose from where it landed in the water, right where he'd wanted it. He patted the side of the gun, "I'm getting better with it."

 _Once you get too far from where I'm at I won't be able to reach you easily. We won't be able to...converse casually._

Lian nodded again, "Okay." He put his hand in the water, "So basically you can help if I get in a really big disaster but you won't really be available otherwise?"

 _Yeah._

The ocean moved around Lian, but everywhere else it was still. It guided him west where apparently there was another continent. He'd never heard of other continents but also wasn't really surprised they existed. It hadn't seemed right that his continent was the only one if the world itself was so big.

Lian was pulled out of a half asleep state when the boat washed up on shore. He rubbed his eyes, picked up his magical gun from where it sat next to him and looked around.

He was greeted with a rocky shore. Sheer, jagged, razor bladed rocks rose from the water all around. They were all a dull slate grey color. Tall luscious grass was visible just over the edge of the low cliff that rose above him.

The sun was setting behind the cliff. He could just see the colors dying the clouds above him.

Lian scowled, "How the holy light am I supposed to get past this?"

 _Lian, calm down. There's a flatter part of shore just a little farther down the line._

"How much farther down?" Lian snapped, "Because I am not going to wander this entire coastline."

 _Good god._ It was clear that Jace was one hundred percent done having his own attitude thrown back at him. _It's not going to be the whole coastline, alright?_

"It better not be," Lian grumbled. He scanned the shore as the boat floated along it. If anything the small cliff in front of him was getting larger. The individual rocks gradually dropped away, beneath the water, while the cliff climbed closer to the sky.

Lian scowled, "The cliff doesn't look like it's getting any smaller, Jace."

Jace didn't respond.

Lian rolled his eyes, "Of course. Why bother with me?" He scanned the cliff in front of him. It didn't look very climbable. And at this point he'd probably smack face first into it if he tried to vault it, even with the boots.

Eventually the base of the cliff opened into a broad cave. The cave was dark and looming. It had an aura around it that made Lian vaguely uncomfortable but more curious than anything. He leaned over the boat, "What about there? That can lead to the top of the cliff."

 _No._

"Why not?" Lian snapped, "And where were you earlier, asshole?"

 _Ooo name calling. Very intimidating. I was busy. The cave has a negative and necromantic magical aura. Don't go into it._

"But what if it goes to the top of the cliff?" Lian demanded impatiently, "I have spent half the night letting you guide the boat on this leisurely little scenic route."

 _Don't go into it, Lian. It's the goddess of death's territory._

Lian scoffed, "Whatever. I'll survive."

 _Fine. But if I can't rescue you, you have to be able to get out on your own._

"Fine." Lian took over directing the boat. The cave was huge up close. There was nothing but darkness past the entrance of the cave. Deeper into it he could see a soft purple-pink glow, but it wasn't enough to illuminate anything. He was having second thoughts but was also too stubborn to quit now. He'd made his choice, and he was prepared to deal with the consequences.

Lian took a deep breathe and squared his shoulders. He walked into the darkness of the cave. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the lack of light. And even then he had to use his hands on the walls to guide himself along.

It wasn't so much of a cave but a tunnel. The floor was smooth, and worn down. There wasn't a single stray pebble. The walls felt like they were made of bricks as opposed to having been worn down naturally. It did feel like he was gradually making his way up, which was satisfying.

Lian grinned, "See. I knew it." Now he was more confident.

It was hard to tell how far in he was though. He counted his steps but didn't actually know how long his stride was. He'd taken a hundred steps when he came to a fork in the path. Left or right.

Lian chewed his lower lip, "Left. Right. Left. Right." Despite the fact that he couldn't see anything he looked around. He sighed, "And maybe forward." He didn't dare walk forward to test that fact in case he lost the walls he was currently using as guides. He shrugged, "Let's go right. I can always retrace my steps."

The tunnel to the right continued to go up, at a steeper slope. The sudden incline surprised Lian but he adjusted to it quickly. He laughed, "See, Jace. I told you I'd survive. And the tunnels are going up."

Lian squinted as a bright pinkish light penetrated the darkness. One hundred and thirteen steps later he was standing in a large open cavern. A symbol on the wall in front of him was what gave off the light. There were two openings on the left and right sides of the cavern that disappeared into darkness. The symbol was a magical one, but he didn't recognize it.

Lian cocked his head to the side. Curiously, he reached out and touched the symbol. He almost vomited. The power was dark and sullying. It slid over his skin like thick paste and burned like acid. Breathing became difficult like he was inhaling smoke and the air around him burned his throat and eyes. Lian jerked away hard enough he stumbled backwards. He leaned against the wall, gasping for breath and shuddered, "What was that?"

A small tremor shook the ground around him.

Lian straightened instantly. He scanned all around him, refusing to overlook a single detail. The only thing that moved was the dust falling to the ground. Everything was still. He rubbed his eyes and swallowed audibly, "Okay. Note to self. Don't touch the symbol."

A female voice echoed down the tunnel to the right toward him.

Lian stiffened. Every hair on his body stood on end. He turned to the right, almost in a daze, "That sounded like..." He shook his head roughly, "That's no possible. I watched them die. They turned to ash." Even so he listened intently as he crept down the tunnel on the right. Every muscle in his body was tense, ready to burst out running at any second.

"Lian! Don't abandon me!" This time it was very clearly Hailey's voice. It sounded as though she was in pain and very afraid.

Lian clenched his jaw. His grip on his gun tightened. He shook his head again, "I'm just psyching myself out. It's not her. It can't be."

Hailey tried to call out again but her call turned into a high pitched, chilling shriek that cut off abruptly. Eerie silence filled the tunnels.

Lian's hands shook. He listened intently but she didn't call out again. "Hai-Hailey?" he whispered quietly.


End file.
